Mangione was arrested back in December on suspicion of fatally shooting Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. He is currently being held without bail in New York at the Metropolitan Detention Center.
So, it came as a little shock and surprise this week when people on the internet seemingly came across his face modeling a “Ditsy Floral” T-shirt while on the Shein website.
Here’s a close-up of the shot.
His face was also allegedly seen on an image for a blue striped tee, which this user posted back in March.
Since the photos were discovered, Shein has reportedly pulled the images from the site. In a statement with ABC News, they said, “The image in question was provided by a third-party vendor and was removed immediately upon discovery.”
“We have stringent standards for all listings on our platform,” they continued, saying they would be “conducting a thorough investigation, strengthening our monitoring processes, and will take appropriate action against the vendor in line with our policies.”
How the images came to be exactly is unclear. Many speculated the images were generated with the help of AI, as Mangione is in jail awaiting trial and is unlikely to be out modeling. Utilizing a facial recognition tool called Amazon Rekognition, the BBC reported they “found a 99.9% similarity score between the fake image and a real picture of Mangione appearing in court,” signifying the image might be AI-generated or manually manipulated.
It’s no secret that Mangione has become a bit of a celebrity. Since his arrest, the case has sparked conversation about everything from the alleged corruption of the healthcare system to memes about his looks. Some worry the public spectacle of Mangione, including incidents like this, could interfere with his trial. “Seriously how is this guy supposed to get a fair trial at this point,” one person wrote on X.
Others were concerned about Mangione’s ability to consent to this while incarcerated. “Not sure using someone’s likeness without their permission and while they’re behind bars is really that funny,” another wrote on Instagram.
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments.
BuzzFeed has reached out to Shein for additional comment. We will keep you updated if we hear back.
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