Piers Morgan unleashed a blistering critique of journalist Taylor Lorenz during an episode of “Piers Morgan Uncensored” on Monday, slamming her remarks in a recent CNN documentary in which she gushed over the suspect in the murder of a health insurance executive.
“I was pretty aghast at the tone that you took in relation to Luigi Mangione because, as I pointed out on X, the guy is an effing cold-blooded killer,” Morgan said during a heated exchange with Lorenz on Monday.
The host accused Lorenz of “fangirling” and “swooning” over Mangione, the 26-year-old Ivy League graduate accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel in early December.
“Somebody who executed somebody who’s a father of two, a business executive, and deserves nothing but public opprobrium, and to be despised for what he did, notwithstanding any arguments about the current state of health care,” Morgan added.
The controversy stems from Lorenz’s comments in “American Extremes,” a documentary hosted by CNN correspondent Donie O’Sullivan.
In the film, Lorenz described Mangione in romanticized terms, saying it made sense that some women were drawn to “this man who’s revolutionary, who’s famous, who’s handsome, who is young, who’s smart” and who “seems like this morally good man, which is hard to find.”
Her remarks sparked immediate backlash, particularly from Morgan, who accused Lorenz and the CNN production of glamorizing a killer.
Lorenz defended herself, claiming her remarks were “completely taken out of context,” and emphasizing her point that American culture has a long history of lionizing criminals.
She cited Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer and Gypsy Rose Blanchard as examples.
Lorenz added that she was referring to the growing number of women have become vocal admirers of Mangione. She noted that these women often attend his court appearances in coordinated outfits and express support both in person and online.
Many of these women gather in social media communities, where they romanticize Mangione as a revolutionary figure and share fan art, letters, and tributes.
According to Lorenz, female admirers of Mangione are in for a “rude awakening” when they realize their hero can’t “live up to their fantasies.”
“I think that once he starts opening his mouth and talking about his beliefs, I think we might realize he’s not as moral, you know, of a person, as we thought,” she said.
But Morgan was not satisfied with her explanation, insisting that the documentary lacked the gravity such a crime demanded.
He sharply criticized both Lorenz and O’Sullivan for what he viewed as a “light-hearted” and “frivolous” tone throughout the segment.
“I just didn’t like the whole tone of it,” Morgan said.
“Donie replied at one stage to you, ‘Yeah, I just realized women will literally date an assassin before they swipe right on me. That’s where we’re at,’ and you both laughed. What I didn’t see — particularly from you, Taylor — was direct, unequivocal condemnation of this.”
He went on to compare the media’s portrayal of Mangione to the coverage of the Tsarnaev brothers, responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing.
“What was their reward? Rather than everyone hating these people, it ended up with them being on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine,” Morgan said.
“No! They are terrorists who bombed innocent people at a marathon.”
Drawing a direct line to Mangione, Morgan declared, “He’s not a handsome, charismatic freedom fighter hero. He’s a disgusting human being who plotted and executed a cold-blooded execution of a father of two children. That’s what he is.”
Throughout the segment, Morgan challenged Lorenz for what he saw as a failure to call out the troubling public fascination with violent criminals, saying, “You can call me the tone police all you like, but where was the condemnation of this hero worship? It wasn’t there.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi has said the Trump administration plans to seek the death penalty against Mangione, describing the attack as a calculated and brutal assassination.
Lorenz is no stranger to controversy. She drew sharp criticism last week after acknowledging that a social media post suggesting President Joe Biden had died initially “got her hopes up.”
Lorenz, known for her outspoken views on progressive causes, has been vocal in her disapproval of Biden, particularly over his support for Israel amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Over the weekend, one user echoed similar sentiments by posting a black-and-white image of Biden alongside the caption: “RIP Joe Biden 1942–2025… You were always a racist f–king monster, and will not be missed.”
In 2022, she faced backlash after revealing the identity of Chaya Raichik, creator of the controversial Libs of TikTok account, leading to accusations of doxxing.
Last year, she left the Washington Post following an internal investigation into a social media post in which she referred to Biden as a “war criminal,” a situation that reportedly strained her relationship with the publication’s leadership.
