Media

Comedian Bill Burr Sounds Off on Insurance Companies as L.A. Burns

‘FREE LUIGI!’

The comedian seemed to make late-night host Jimmy Kimmel a bit uncomfortable when he pivoted to praising the man who shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Bill Burr
ABC/Randy Holmes

Bill Burr is not afraid to call out the insurance companies who have seized the opportunity to cash in on the L.A. fires.

“I love how all the chatter out there is about bans on illegal immigrants and homeless people lighting fires—they light fires every day, they’re living outside, it’s f---ing cold,” Burr said during his Tuesday appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. “But CNN and Fox News are not going to bring up the insurance companies that are just gonna keep everybody’s premiums and still give themselves a bonus.”

Then, just in case his message wasn’t clear, he added, “Free Luigi!”

“I love how they acted surprised, ‘How could that happen?’” he said mocking surprised pundits following the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. “[The killer] wrote on the bullets why it happened,” Burr continued, referring to the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” that appeared on the bullets fired at Thompson. Authorities believe it was a reference to the book of the same name, about “Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.”

And it’s not the first time Burr has spoken out in support of Mangione. “The funny thing when that CEO got whacked was watching CEOs have to be uncomfortable,” Burr told Variety this week.

“I’m sure they didn’t learn anything, but it’s like: This is how you make everybody feel day to day as you apply pressure because ‘that’s how business is done,’” he also told the site. “How you leave this burning wreckage of destroyed lives as you ‘restructure’ and ‘consolidate.’ It was fun to see them worry.”

And last month, Burr expressed similar frustration with the media’s coverage of Thompson’s murder. “They’re gangsters dude, f---ing gangsters, and then when one of them gets whacked or something they’re like, ‘Oh my god he was such a good guy,’” he said on a podcast episode, calling healthcare a “dirty game.”

Burr had the same energy when it came to the fire insurance companies, many of which canceled policies in the affected areas months prior to the deadly wildfire outbreak. At least 24 people have been killed according to NBC News, and tens of thousands have been displaced.

When Kimmel asked Burr Tuesday, “We’re still on Luigi?” Burr responded, “I never left Luigi!”

As for his own California home, Burr said he had to evacuate but ultimately he and his family “got lucky” because the “winds moved.” He was pleased with his own reaction to the emergency situation, he told Kimmel. “When big stuff happens I get ridiculously calm,” he explained. “So if the house was gonna be on fire, I would just be like, ‘Well, ya know it’d kinda be cool to not own anything.’ Like I’ll just go into that mode.”

For more, listen to Bill Burr on The Last Laugh podcast.