Emma Stone Under Fire Over Comments About Suspected Killer Luigi Mangione

The actress was called out for comparing her new film “Bugonia” to the Mangione case, where the suspect is accused of killing a healthcare CEO.

Away from the controversy, critics have praised “Bugonia” as a genre-bending thriller, with Emma Stone’s performance hailed as both daring and darkly convincing.

Stone came under fire after drawing a controversial parallel between her new film “Bugonia” and the high-profile Luigi Mangione case.

In Yorgos Lanthimos’s dark drama, the 36-year-old actress portrays a powerful healthcare executive who is abducted by a disgruntled employee, played by Jesse Plemons.

During a Q&A at the Telluride Film Festival on August 30, Stone remarked on how unsettlingly close the film’s storyline felt to real life.

Mangione currently stands accused of fatally shooting United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two, outside a Manhattan hotel during a work event on December 4, 2024. He has pleaded not guilty, while federal prosecutors have signaled they may pursue the death penalty if he’s convicted.

Stone told audiences she was shaken by the real-world parallels: “What’s really crazy, after we had shot the film – I live in New York – we heard someone was shot up the street. It was a healthcare CEO. You know, because Luigi. You guys heard about this?”

She continued: “It was wild, because we had all just been in a basement [filming] together, talking about these issues and the bigger meaning of everything. It keeps hitting you that the world is so deeply fraught and terrifying in so many ways.”

Stone’s remarks sparked a wave of online backlash, with many branding her comments “out of touch” and insensitive.

On X (formerly Twitter), critics didn’t hold back. One user wrote: “Wow, she’s ignorant.”

Another accused her of condescension, saying: “Emma Stone assumes Americans are stupid and do not hear or read the news. -0- respect for her. Will not support her projects.”

Others were harsher, calling her statements “propaganda” and suggesting the film was deliberately crafted to mirror the Mangione case.

“F-cking propaganda. Of course it has ‘terrifying’ parallels, it’s a f-cking intentional f-cking parody. This sh-t is meant to convince you that you should be afraid of him, not the mass murderer in the story,” one person quipped.

Another wrote: “Emma Stone’s recent comments about Mangione tell me one thing: clearly she’s not method acting or else enough preparation would’ve been put into her role in Eddington so that she had something far more outlandish to say about the assassination.”

Speaking to Vogue on August 11, Stone revealed she wore wigs in public after shaving her head for her “Bugonia” role.

“I was bummed I wasn’t going out with it. Just straight-up bald. I think that would have been fun,” Stone said.

Despite the secrecy, the two-time Oscar winner loved the transformation. She said filming the head-shaving scene, where her character is kidnapped, was unforgettable.

“No better feeling in the world. The first shower when you’ve shaved your head? Oh my god, it’s amazing,” the actress recalled.

The “La La Land” actress admitted that shaving her head for “Bugonia” stirred unexpected emotions, as it reminded her of when her mom, Krista, lost her hair during breast cancer treatment.

“She actually did something brave,” Stone reflected. “I’m just shaving my head.” Krista, however, encouraged the bold move, joking she wanted to shave hers again..

Meanwhile, not everyone was on board at first, as close friend Jennifer Lawrence confessed she dreaded another dramatic hair change after Stone’s “Battle of the Sexes” cut.

“I really didn’t want her to shave her head,” Lawrence told Vogue. “I had already lived through the Billie Jean King haircut.”