Hasan Piker Draws Backlash After NYT Podcast Comments Praising Theft And Condoning Violence

Left-wing streamer and political commentator Hasan Piker and, to a lesser extent, The New Yorker writer Jia Tolentino are facing harsh criticism after remarks made during a New York Times podcast appearance in which they expressed support for certain forms of theft and revisited controversial rhetoric around political violence, specifically their views on the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Host and New York Times Opinion culture editor Nadja Spiegelman pointed to broader cultural attitudes as she raised concerns about shifting moral boundaries, particularly among younger Americans.

“I think 41 percent of Gen Zers felt that murder was morally justified. But it’s scary to be in a society where people feel that murder is morally justified. And I’m curious how we thread that line?” she asked.

Her comments reflect a wider divide captured in recent opinion polling. While most American adults say the killing was unacceptable, a plurality of younger respondents viewed it as acceptable. At the same time, a majority of Americans said factors such as denied health care coverage and profits within the health insurance industry played a role in contributing to the death of the UnitedHealthcare CEO.

Piker’s response aligned with the sentiment expressed by younger Americans reacting to Thompson’s killing, framing it through a broader ideological lens.

“Yeah. Friedrich Engels wrote about the concept of social murder. And Brian Thompson, as the United Healthcare CEO, was engaging in a tremendous amount of social murder,” he said.

He went on to argue that systemic issues within the U.S. health care system contribute to widespread harm.

“The systematized forms of violence, the structural violence of poverty, the for-profit, paywalled system of health care in this country — and the consequences of that are tremendous amounts of pain, tremendous amounts of violence, tremendous amounts of deaths,” Piker added.

He also noted what he saw as a contradiction in public reaction.

“And that was a fascinating story for me, because Americans are very draconian about crime and punishment. They’re very black and white on this issue. And yet, because of the pervasive pain that the private health care system had created for the average American, I saw so many people immediately understand why this death had taken place.”

Tolentino later responded to Piker by expanding on the idea, suggesting that certain industries are widely viewed in similarly negative terms.

“It’s also worth saying there are not that many health care CEOs; there are not that many industries that are as universally understood as merchants of social murder, of structural violence upon people. And it was as if the language appeared lit up within people who had never articulated it out loud,” she said.

At the same time, she drew a distinction regarding public attitudes toward violence.

“I don’t actually think, necessarily, that we have come to a place where targeted assassination is seen like it’s OK,” Tolentino added.

Separately, Piker drew additional backlash earlier this month after making a controversial remark about Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) during a livestream, saying, “If you cared about Medicare fraud or Medicaid fraud, you would kill Rick Scott.” (RELATED: Michigan’s El-Sayed Urges ‘Context’ For Hasan Piker’s 9/11 Remark Amid Growing Backlash)

As the discussion continued, the host introduced the concept of “microlooting,” leading Piker to describe himself as “pro-stealing” and “pro-piracy” when it comes to large corporations and museums. He argued that corporations “steal quite a bit more from their own workers” and insinuated that artifacts should be returned to their countries of origin.

During the exchange, Spiegelman posed a series of provocative questions to her guests.

“Would you steal from the Louvre?” she asked.

Piker answered plainly: “Yes.”

Tolentino offered a more qualified response, saying, “I would not be logistically capable of executing such a fact, but would I cheer on every news story of people that I see doing it? Absolutely.”

“I think it’s cool. We’ve got to get back to cool crimes like that: bank robberies, stealing priceless artifacts, things of that nature. I feel like that’s way cooler than the 7,000th new cryptocurrency scheme that people are engaging in,” Piker interjected.

Spiegelman followed up with another question: “Would you steal from Whole Foods?”

Tolentino responded candidly: “Yes. And I have, under very specific circumstances. I will say, I think that stealing from a big box store — I’ll just state my platform — it’s neither very significant as a moral wrong, nor is it significant in any way as protest or direct action. But I did steal from Whole Foods on several occasions.”

The comments quickly drew criticism from political opponents and media figures, who argued that normalizing theft — let alone homicide — could encourage lawlessness.

The episode has renewed debate over how mainstream outlets engage with polarizing online figures, including questions about their responsibility in amplifying polarizing figures with massive influence? (RELATED: Hasan Piker Defends Past Hamas Comments In Tense Exchange With ‘Pod Save America’ Host)

READ NEXT: Comedian Drops Jaw-Dropping Confession On Megyn Kelly