Shein, a fast fashion company, said it has removed an image from its shopping platform after Luigi Mangione’s likeness was used to model one of its shirts.
Mangione, 27, is accused of killing the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, on a Manhattan sidewalk on Dec. 4, 2024. He has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of murder, two counts of stalking and a gun offence. He is currently being held without bail in a New York City federal detention facility.
Shein has launched an investigation after the image that looked identical to Mangione appeared on its website, showing a man modelling a shirt priced just under US$10.
In a statement to People, Shein said the image had been taken down.
“The image in question was provided by a third-party vendor and was removed immediately upon discovery,” a company spokesperson told the outlet. “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.”
Luigi Mangione arraigned on federal murder charges in New York
Manfinity, the menswear vendor that sold the shirt featured in the image, appears to have many AI-generated images on its website. NBC News reports that the support email for the vendor bounces back and the Detroit address listed on its website doesn’t appear to exist.
The photo on Shein’s website caught people’s attention before the company took it down, and it quickly gained traction online.
they're using AI luigi as a model on shein .. ? pic.twitter.com/kDOjWYEQ99
— mango (@mangosdivine) September 3, 2025
Shein’s website appears to use Luigi Mangione’s face to model a spring/summer shirt. pic.twitter.com/nM1aReOdoC
— ig: wigsandtea (@wigsandtea_) September 3, 2025
Fashion’s gone wild. A seller on SHEIN is using pictures of Luigi Mangione to sell shirts pic.twitter.com/elB98LY7eh
— Masha Bucher (@mashadrokova) September 3, 2025
Mangione’s lawyer, Thomas Dickey, told Inside Edition that he was shocked to see the ad on the fashion website.
“Mr. Mangione did not authorize that. I wasn’t happy to see somebody using his image or likeness for their own monetary gain and without his permission,” Dickey said.
The BBC reported that the image could have been created using AI or a manual photo editing tool.
“The image is low resolution, but there are a few signs that it might be AI-generated or manipulated,” Henry Ajder, a generative AI expert, told the outlet.
“This includes the lighting and texturing of the image, particularly of the skin, as well as appearance of a blob-like artifact above the right forearm. The right hand also doesn’t appear to show typical segmentation of the fingers.”
Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO
Mangione is next due in federal court on Dec. 5, a day after the one-year anniversary of Thompson’s death.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced in April that she was directing federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for “an act of political violence” and a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”
In a new filing on Aug. 27, prosecutors wrote that Mangione poses a continuing danger in part because he seeks to influence others.
“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.”
In a footnote, prosecutors referenced the gunman who went into an office building not far from where Thompson was shot in midtown Manhattan, then killed four people, including an off-duty police officer, a financial services firm executive and a security guard, and wounded others, including an NFL employee.
Prosecutors also said Mangione has “openly cultivated supporters” by setting up a website and directly addressing them. They said Mangione has also catalogued all of the supportive letters he has received on his website.
— With files from The Associated Press