Death Metal Band Sparks Controversy Over CEO Murder Shirt

Death metal outfit Sanguisugabogg are stirring controversy and generating some strong reactions after promoting a piece of parody merch and alibi troll post related to one of the biggest stories in the U.S. right now, the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the recently arrested and charged Luigi Mangione.

The shirt in question features the Luigi character from the popular Super Mario Bros. Nintendo franchise wearing a hoodie and standing with a gun over the game’s villain Bowser, who appears to have been shot several times. It comes with a blood-splattered print logo at the top that reads “Free Luigi.”

The shirt comes from Dead As Shirts, which describes itself on Instagram as  featuring “crazy designs for crazier people.”

Sanguisugabogg notably have a popular song titled “Dead As Shit.”

The merch item was promoted on X by Sanguisugabogg, who joined in the growing social media trend of photoshopping Luigi Mangione into a photo seemingly giving him an alibi for the shooting.

“Free Luigi who on December 4th around 6 AM helped us load our trailer and drive with us to play a secret set in California which is about 2.80k from Manhattan and at the show with us all night he bought merch from every band except for the hoodies because he said he hates them and 3D printed 9mm,” the post states, the last line referencing a gun.

In announcing the pre-order for the shirt on Instagram, the caption states, “Violence is necessary to survive.”

The post was shared as a collaboration between Sanguisugabogg vocalist Devin Swank, Moribund Art and the Dead As Shirts account (@deadasclothes).

READ MORE: Sanguisugabogg Fan Goes Viral for Dancing in Wall of Death

About the Shirt

The “Free Luigi” parody shirt retails for $30-$33, according to the pre-order site. The order adds, “Allow 2-3 weeks at the most to ship after order is placed. U.S. orders only Free our mans he didn’t do nothing.”

Strong Reactions to the ‘Free Luigi’ Shirt + Luigi Alibi Troll Post

Throughout the course of their social media history, Sanguisugabogg have been known for their line-crossing sense of humor. Just last month, the band’s Instagram account was suspended and as of press time it currently remains inactive, though the group eventually started up a new account. It appears the issue was a strike over using intellectual property.

The use of Super Mario Bros. characters in their parody shirt may not be looked upon well by Nintendo.

One commenter on the post noted, “Nintendo seething rn.” “Nintendo ain’t gonna like this hahaha. Full support tho this is sick,” added another person in the comments.

Not everyone was a fan of the choice of subject matter. “Embarrassing for everyone involved,” commented one person on the Instagram post.

“And the [bootlickers] are in mourning for the CEO,” countered another person.

When one person asked if proceeds were going to Mangione’s legal defense, Swank responded, “Yeah I can donate some proceeds to help his fines and fees I can definitely do that I’ve seen something taking donations for him yesterday and I know he’s gonna have a ton of fans helping once he’s booked.”

Instagram fans also had jokes concerning Swank’s photoshopped Luigi post. “Dude has a killer smile. He definitely seems like a nice guy,” commented one person. “When he fell in the pit, he said no problem I have the best healthcare in the game,” added another. “Honestly bro was crowd killing the whole time,” added a third. “His spin kick was the only weapon he had,” added another.  “It was his evil twin waluigi that did it [omg],” continued another person.

On X, Sanguisugabogg’s initial post about the shirt appears to have been taken down and replaced by another, while the photoshopped Luigi tweet remains along with the promotion for the T-shirt.

ThePRP noted a few strong exchanges between the band and commenters.

When one person noted, “This is disgusting,” and Sanguisugabogg replied, “That’s why it’s sick.” “It’s disturbing you find this entertaining at all,” the person responded back to which the band added, “You must be new here.”

Another person from the original thread added, “Absolutely amoral trying to profit off this event with your overpriced sweatshop slop.” “Just say you can’t afford it bro,” the group replied.

“Yes I could not afford to betray my morals in such a way, just couldn’t do it,” the person responded, to which the band said, “Sorry you bow to oligarchs and fat pocketed CEOs who have no moral regard for you or anyone you know and love. Also it’s a joke, but people seem to forget what jokes are.”

“Even if it is a joke, it’s in bad taste,” noted one person on a still public X post. “I really can’t believe some people are trying to make this guy a hero. I guess we got a lot of George Zimmerman fans too.”

“This is disgusting and anyone celebrating this crime is depraved, immoral, and probably a self-righteous narcissist. Punk rock is dead,” added another person.