Comedian Tim Dillon, never one to shy away from controversy, has ignited a firestorm with his latest Netflix special, *Torching 2024: A Roast of the Year*. In a biting and darkly satirical skit, Dillon portrayed himself as the late UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, mocking the industry and the public’s reaction to Thompson’s tragic murder in New York City.
Dillon introduced the skit with his trademark irreverence, saying, “I’m going to hell for this, you might as well laugh.” Dressed in an outfit mimicking Thompson’s appearance at the time of his murder, Dillon pretended to be the deceased executive reading scathing social media reactions to his death.
“Your reaction to my murder makes me sick … and not the type of sick I would immediately deny for not having the proper paperwork,” Dillon quipped, taking aim at the healthcare industry’s bureaucracy. The segment continued with the comedian delivering lines such as, “Without people like me, f***ing over people like you, to help people like me, this country would fall apart—and that’s on you.”
While some fans praised Dillon’s willingness to tackle taboo subjects, the skit has drawn sharp criticism from many who feel it crossed a line. Dillon concluded the segment with a grim play on words: “Deny, defend, decompose,” referencing bullet casings at the crime scene that reportedly bore the words “Deny Defend Depose.”
The backlash to Dillon’s performance is compounded by the disturbing celebration of Thompson’s death in some left-wing circles. Controversial journalist Taylor Lorenz added fuel to the fire, telling Piers Morgan that she felt “joy” over the CEO’s demise, a statement that left many shocked.
On X, Lorenz doubled down, sharing posts that accused Thompson of being responsible for mass suffering. “People have very justified hatred toward insurance company CEOs because these executives are responsible for an unfathomable amount of death and suffering,” Lorenz wrote, defending her remarks as a critique of the healthcare system.
Her reposts included a chilling hypothetical about emailing other insurance CEOs with the message “you’re next,” which critics have called dangerously irresponsible. Such rhetoric risks encouraging violence and undermines civil discourse, even in the face of widespread frustration with the healthcare industry.
Leftist academics have also piled on. Columbia University professor Anthony Zenkus callously compared mourning Thompson to mourning the 68,000 Americans who die annually due to lack of healthcare access. Similarly, University of Virginia historian David Austin Walsh sarcastically remarked that Thompson’s assassination was the one thing that could unify a divided nation.
While criticism of the healthcare industry is fair game, the celebration of violence should raise alarms. Tim Dillon’s skit may have been intended as satire, but its timing and tone risk normalizing a dangerous level of animosity. Even more concerning are public figures like Lorenz and others, whose gleeful responses to Thompson’s death signal a troubling erosion of basic decency.
Conservatives have long argued that the Left’s rhetoric often veers into dangerous territory, and this episode is yet another example. It’s one thing to critique policy; it’s another to glorify violence or mock the loss of life. Americans deserve better than this toxic, divisive discourse—onstage, online, and in academia.
