In a properly functioning society, members unite around common laws and ideals built on equality and fairness for the benefit of all. But lately, in a culture so deeply obsessed with physical appearance, many “hot” people are finding loopholes to avoid punishment. Most recently, the news cycle has latched onto the story of Luigi Mangione, a man who committed blatant murder on a New York City street, but is receiving praise and flattery from around the world because of his good looks. TikTok users immediately posted videos of Mangione that diminished and sometimes outright dismissed his horrendous crime all because of his attractiveness. The suggestion that “hot” people can evade consequences because of their physical appeal does nothing but disgrace our meticulously constructed legal system and shame our society.
The most recent case of this “pretty privilege,” can be seen in the case of Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate who killed the United Healthcare chief executive, Brian Thompson, on Dec. 4. Mangione states that the basis for this murder was to seek revenge on the corrupt healthcare system that denied funding for his grandmother who died from Parkinson’s disease back in 2023. To preface, I completely agree and understand that our healthcare system is flawed and has refused life saving treatment because of corporate greed. Murder in any scenario is abhorrent, but to murder a human being in an act that ultimately won’t have any impact on the healthcare system is just unacceptable and appalling. So why am I seeing people praise a criminal as a hero who murdered a husband and father? Mangione has yet to be put on trial or receive any sentencing, but already many have apologized for his actions all because of his “good looks.” It makes me wonder: if Thompson was murdered by an out of shape man with a beer belly and a buck tooth, would people’s reactions be different? Would he still be regarded as a hero?
Another familiar story that found adoration on TikTok is the tale of Cameron Herrin, a 18-year-old boy who killed a mother and daughter due to his reckless driving. On May 28, 2018, Herrin and his friend, John Barrineau, decided to race down Bayshore Boulevard, a road often frequented by pedestrians. While racing, Jessica Reisinger-Raubenolt, a 24-year-old mother and her 21-month-year-old daughter, Lillia, were crossing the street. Sadly, as the pair crossed the street, Herrin struck Reisinger-Raubenolt and her daughter at a speed of around 162 miles per hour. The mother was instantly killed on impact and her daughter later succumbed to her wounds the following day. From the moment Herrin’s trial started, social media users created edits celebrating his attractiveness and making comments such as, “He didn’t do it on purpose, he’s too hot to go to jail.” Herrin was sentenced to nine years of jail time and fifteen years of probation. After hearing his punishment, I was baffled. How does a man who killed a mother and child get off scot free with only nine years?
This is all to say that pretty privilege is absolutely real, and anyone who denies it are those that benefit from it in their daily lives. I find it so hypocritical that the same people who would condemn and shame a murderer or rapist one moment will also defend someone of the same crimes that just so happens to be conventionally attractive. I’m by no means saying we shouldn’t shame and punish murderers and rapists, but that punishment should be the same for all people who commit it, not just those who are “unattractive.”
