(NEXSTAR) – Shein, an online fast-fashion retailer, has removed a listing for a men’s short-sleeve shirt after discovering that a third-party vendor was using Luigi Mangione’s likeness to move the merchandise.
The product listing, which is no longer active, featured an image that appeared to show a man resembling Mangione modeling a “Men’s New Spring/Summer Short Sleeve Blue Ditsy Floral White Shirt,” according to an archive of the Shein website. It was unclear how the image was created; users on social media have speculated that the image of the “model” was AI–generated.
A representative for Shein did not say how they believed the image was created.
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“The image in question was provided by a third-party vendor and was removed immediately upon discovery,” a Shein spokesperson wrote in a statement obtained by Nexstar’s WPIX. “We have stringent standards for all listings on our platform. We are conducting a thorough investigation, strengthening our monitoring processes, and will take appropriate action against the vendor in line with our policies.”
The image as it appeared on the Shein website – its exact origin is unclear, and some have suggested it may have even been generated by artificial intelligence. Courtesy: BBC
Mangione, 27, has been accused of killing former UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was gunned down in New York City in December 2024. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges. He is currently being held without bail in a Brooklyn detention center.
The killing of Thompson, who led one of the biggest health insurers in the U.S., resulted in a vast outpouring of public frustration with the country’s health care system. Many Americans reacted to the shooting by relaying personal stories about difficult experiences with insurance companies. Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, has also been lionized as a sort of vigilante hero by those who are critical of the insurance industry.
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Last week, prosecutors submitted a filing claiming that Mangione has inspired others to embrace violence, citing July’s deadly mass shooting at the National Football League headquarters.
Luigi Mangione appears in court for a hearing, Feb. 21, 2025, in New York. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool, File)
“Simply put, the defendant hoped to normalize the use of violence to achieve ideological or political objectives,” they said. “Since the murder, certain quarters of the public — who openly identify as acolytes of the defendant — have increasingly begun to view violence as an acceptable, or even necessary, substitute for reasoned political disagreement.”
Prosecutors plan to argue that Mangione deserves the death penalty in federal court. No federal trial date has been set.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
