Taylor Lorenz, the high-profile tech journalist formerly of The Washington Post and Vox Media, has found herself at the center of yet another media firestorm following her comments about the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Lorenz’s remarks, which appeared to sympathize with public outrage against healthcare executives, have cost her a distribution partnership with Vox Media, marking another abrupt career shift for the embattled reporter.
The controversy erupted after Lorenz penned an essay for her newsletter, User Mag, in which she sought to contextualize—and, critics say, justify—the wave of dark humor and public anger surrounding Thompson’s death.
“If you have watched a loved one die because an insurance conglomerate has denied their life-saving treatment as a cost-cutting measure, yes, it’s natural to wish that the people who run such conglomerates would suffer the same fate,” Lorenz wrote.
Lorenz’s essay, titled Why “We” Want Insurance Executives Dead, tapped into frustrations with the U.S. healthcare system. She cited data showing UnitedHealthcare denies an outsized percentage of claims—32%, double the industry average—and highlighted the personal toll of such practices. “People have very justified hatred toward insurance company CEOs because these executives are responsible for an unfathomable amount of death and suffering,” she
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The essay included firsthand accounts from patients and families affected by UnitedHealthcare denials, lending weight to Lorenz’s argument. Still, critics contend that framing such frustrations amid a real-life tragedy was, at best, tone-deaf.
On Saturday, Lorenz reaffirmed her stance, stating she supported those calling for the execution of healthcare CEOs.
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