A professor at the University of Pennsylvania has reportedly referred to Luigi Mangione, the suspected murderer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, as an “icon” in a now-deleted social media post.
Julia Alekseyeva, an assistant professor of English and Cinema & Media Studies at the prestigious Ivy League institution and a self-identified “socialist,” shared a video on TikTok where she was seen smiling while the song “Do You Hear the People Sing?” from the musical Les Misérables played in the background, according to a report by the New York Post. Alekseyeva, who uses the handle “The Soviette” on social media, deleted the post following public backlash.
“Never been prouder to be a professor at the University of P3nnsylvania (sic),” she wrote in the caption of the now-removed post, a reference to Mangione’s status as an alumnus.
The professor, who describes herself as a “socialist and passionate anti-fascist” on her personal website, also referred to Mangione as “the icon we all need and deserve” in a separate post on her Instagram profile.
Mangione, 26, is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as he was heading to an investor’s conference outside a Manhattan hotel on December 4. Surveillance footage captures the suspect, believed to be Mangione, shooting Thompson twice in the back before fleeing the scene on an electric bike. Mangione was arrested in western Pennsylvania earlier this week after a manhunt lasting several days and spanning multiple states.
Alekseyeva’s posts sparked widespread outrage, particularly among critics and several University of Pennsylvania students, after they were shared on X (formerly Twitter) by the influential account Libs of TikTok.
DISGUSTING: UPenn professor Julia Alekseyeva celebrates the alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO's assassin and that the murderer attended UPenn.
To anyone wondering how America's youth becomes so radical to murder someone, it is because of the extremist professors. pic.twitter.com/j2LlgaSAZf
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) December 10, 2024
“UPenn professor Julia Alekseyeva celebrates the alleged killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO and highlights the fact that the murderer attended UPenn. If you’re wondering how America’s youth can become radical enough to commit murder, it’s because of extremist professors like her,” UPenn graduate Eyal Yakoby wrote on X. He also pointed out that Alekseyeva has a history of endorsing radical ideologies and actions on campus.
“This is utterly outrageous. Her teaching is how we end up with a Luigi Mangione,” Yakoby added in a follow-up post.
The professor has since deleted the posts and set her Instagram account to private.
