Chris Rock recently made headlines with his controversial remarks comparing the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson to a drug-related assassination.
While hosting Saturday Night Live, Rock stunned audiences with his commentary on recent events. He began by taking a jab at Diddy, also known as Sean Combs, who is awaiting trial for charges including racketeering and sex trafficking through force, fraud, or coercion.
A federal indictment details numerous allegations against the rapper, including organizing ‘freak offs.’ During a raid at one of Combs’ properties, authorities reportedly discovered 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lube, a claim made by prosecutors citing Homeland Security’s involvement.
Rock humorously remarked on the high level of security he encountered, saying, “It’s so hard just getting in the building tonight, so much security. My God, my God, I had to walk by a bunch of baby oil sniffing dogs. It was insane!”
He then shifted focus to Luigi Mangione, the alleged gunman accused of killing Thompson on the streets of New York City on December 4.
Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on gun charges and later faced murder charges in New York, along with possession of a loaded firearm, possession of a forged instrument, and criminal possession of a weapon.
Rock commented, “Everybody’s worried, everybody’s worried. I mean, we got Luigi. We got Luigi you know, and that’s good.”
Expressing sympathy for Thompson’s family, Rock added, “I really feel sorry for the family. I mean, everybody’s fixated on how good looking this guy looks – if he looked like Jonah Hill no one would care. They’d already have given him the chair already… he’d be dead.
“Okay, but he actually killed a man. A man? A man with a family. A man with kids, man. I mean, I have condolences. I have real condolences for, you know, the healthcare CEO. I mean, this is a real person, you know?”
The comedian, aged 59, continued, “But you also got to go. You know, sometimes drug dealers get shot. Alright? I mean, you’ve seen The Wire, right?”
Rock’s blunt statement—’sometimes drug dealers get shot’—elicited shock and gasps from the audience, though some agreed with his perspective.
A Reddit user commented, “LOL. That CEO was more like a drug stealer. Denying people drugs they paid to receive, and Chris Rock is right. If you steal money that people gave you to cover the cost of drugs … your kneecaps are going to be…. Well … Nevermind.”