By Daniela L. Ginsburg
Boston University News Service
Luigi Mangione is currently being accused of murdering the former United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson. His case has quickly gained viral recognition on social media despite still awaiting a trial date.
There has been a particular pattern of idolization on social media, with users flaunting Mangione’s appearance. Edits of Mangione have gone viral on TikTok and Instagram Reels as if the alleged criminal is gaining fans.
This pattern has even surpassed social media. Recently, Mangione asked his fans to stop sending photos and gifts to the Brooklyn Federal Jail.
At a non-affiliated Disney music dance party in Boston, a slideshow of Magione with the song “He Could Be The One” from Disney’s Hannah Montana played. The event garnered backlash on social media as audience members were cheering in the background.
The phenomenon of people sexualizing killers has had a long history in America. From Ted Bundy to Richard Ramirez, people have had their fair share of idolizing killers.
Theodore Robert Bundy, a serial killer who confessed to killing over 30 women, notoriously used his charm to lure his victims. The killer drew large crowds of women in court and received fan-mail featuring nude pictures and love letters, according to Stephen Michaud, co-author of Ted Bundy: Conversations with a Killer.
Richard Ramirez, a serial killer convicted of murdering 14 people and attempting five, was dubbed the “Night Stalker,” and similarly, received fan mail. Fan obsession went so far that Ramirez ended up marrying superfan, Doreen Lioym in California’s San Quentin State Prison.
Both killers are featured characters in film and TV. Zach Villa played Ramirez in FX’s “American Horror Story” in Seasons five and nine and Zac Effron played Bundy in Netflix’s “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.”
The attitudes glorifying these killers trace back to 1986 when sexologist Dr. John Money coined the term hybristophilia. He explained the phenomenon as experiencing sexual interest with a partner linked to cheating, lying and committing a crime.
The term can be broken down into two categories, aggressive and passive.
Aggressive hybristophilia refers to a person attracted to and wanting to work alongside an aggressor. This perversion is often linked to the “Bonnie and Clyde Syndrome” where one partner takes the dominant role and the other submissive, both sharing an interest in the crime.
Passive hybristophilia refers to a person forming a romantic or idealized attachment to the criminal.
David Wilson, Criminology Professor Emeritus at Birmingham City University, said that hybristophilia-based relationships can be linked to childhood.
During adolescence, those who experienced sexual or physical abuse send gifts to criminals to take control by simulating a relationship where they hold more power than the ones behind bars.
Another reason pertains to gaining the attention they craved during adolescence, a hybristophilliac relationship allows them to gain status.
With a long history of sexualizing killers, many speculate if media focusing on killers is a raise for concern.
According to an interview with USA TODAY, Joe Berlinger, Director of “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile,” said he wanted the historical beats to accurately portray Ted Bundy’s story.
To exhibit the killer’s appeal, Berlinger said he specifically chose Zac Efron to portray Ted Bundy based on his attractiveness and star appeal.
However, many viewers saw the movie’s trailer as sexualizing the killer through a series of shots including Efron passionately kissing his costar Lily Collins and engaging in intimate relations with other women.
Many X users debated if the show sexualized Bundy with one X user writing “I know the youth of Twitter will obsess over him, and I’d prefer not to read thirst tweets about a serial murderer,” the user wrote.
After the show’s release, Netflix issued a statement on X reminding viewers not to sexualize and glorify the killer.
“I’ve seen a lot of talk about Ted Bundy’s alleged hotness and would like to gently remind everyone that there are literally THOUSANDS of hot men on the service – almost all of whom are not convicted serial murderers,” the post from the official Netflix account reads.
