When UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in New York on December 4, it sparked a national conversation about how health insurance companies are denying patients life-saving treatment. Many people even celebrated the suspected shooter, Luigi Mangione, 26, who is awaiting extradition to New York where he was arrested last week in Pennsylvania. But UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, appears to be using a special tactic to fight back against anyone celebrating Mangione online.
Internet users have created tributes to Mangione, including everything from songs to T-shirts. But one pro-Mangione design is no longer available online because UnitedHealth Group filed a copyright complaint against it under the Digital Copyright Act (DMCA). The drawing has been removed from Teepublic, which allows artists to sell their designs on merchandise such as t-shirts and sweatshirts. But it’s not clear how UnitedHealth can claim that it has rights to something that doesn’t include any of its intellectual property.
The design, which you can see below, does not include any UnitedHealth logos or anything that could be construed as a trademark or image of the healthcare giant. Mangione’s watercolor painting, apparently inspired by one of the security camera images released by the police. Mangione is surrounded in the heart but, again, nothing appears to be related to UnitedHealth.
The creator of the image told Gizmodo that it “doesn’t make sense” because he doesn’t understand how UnitedHealthcare could have a copyright claim on it. Rachel Kenaston, 36, a filmmaker and comedian, said she was inspired by what she called the solidarity shown by workers after the shooting.
“I live in Brooklyn but I grew up in Vienna, West Virginia so I’ve seen firsthand how the working class struggles in rural and urban areas,” Kenaston told Gizmodo via email. “Luigi is a human hero to me, I was brought up learning about Mine Wars and how heroes put their lives at risk to fight against corporate exploitation.”
The Mine Wars is a reference to the labor actions of the 1910s in West Virginia, when coal miners demanded better wages and working conditions. The police and mine owners tried to break in the workers with violence, and the workers fought back.
Kenaston said he didn’t expect any kind of intellectual property claim to be filed and told Gizmodo he was filing a counterclaim against the copyright notice.
“For my design, I chose to watercolor Luigi and use beautiful pastel colors to appeal to the feminine sensibility,” Kenaston said. “I honestly expected the design to be pulled for condoning violence or something, but I found out that UnitedHealth Group Inc claims they have the intellectual rights to Luigi’s image.”
Kenaston has his own problems with America’s health care system, which is notorious for being the most expensive in the world while delivering poorer health outcomes than other wealthy countries.
“I had a really bad tumor on my ribs a few years ago. I have had 5 breast reconstruction surgeries at Memorial Sloan Kettering and without the Affordable Care Act and expanded Medicaid in NY I would not be able to afford any treatment,” Kenaston told Gizmodo. “I’ve lost three ribs and I’m in constant pain now so unfortunately I’ve had a lot of experience navigating the health care industry and I sympathize with Luigi’s struggle with back pain.”
Kenaston explained how growing up in a city polluted by large corporations has also shaped his perspective on these issues.
“In my hometown, DuPont is responsible for dumping C8 in our water and causing thousands of deaths from cancer and other health problems,” Kenaston said. “It is deeply disturbing to know that corporations are responsible for the deaths of so many people and the only justice the American people can expect is a needless fine.”
Kenaston has other designs available online, including watercolors of cats and dogs and more political art such as the Donald Trump-themed “Dick-tator” design. In that case, Trump’s body appears to be a scrotum made of potatoes.
GoFundMe has shut down at least two of Mangione’s fundraising efforts, as public interest in his case has grown. A woman was arrested and charged last week after allegedly saying “delay, deny, delete” from her health insurance company that denied her. And there are already several documentaries about Mangione reportedly in the works, including one by Alex Gibney, the director of Taxi to the Dark Sidewhich won the Oscar for Best Documentary in 2008.
UnitedHealth Group did not respond to emailed questions Monday about how the company could claim copyright infringement. Gizmodo will update this post when we hear back.
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