Two weeks ago, a swirl of rumors emerged in the media alleging that Luigi Mangione produced over 20 high-quality pornographic videos. I woke up in Los Angeles the day these claims first emerged to several messages from East Coast friends alerting me to the headlines. I very thoroughly researched the claims, their source, and the outlets reporting them. The claims have been propagated primarily by trashy tabloid outlets, with other outlets reposting the tabloid claim, taking no responsibility for the credibility of the original “reporting.”
Hilariously, the original source for the claims and only named individual who claims to have seen the videos is Kevin Blatt, described as a “sex tape broker” who is “famous for helping celebrities broker deals or suppress sex tapes.” Had you ever heard of this guy before? Ya, me either. Immediately, my bullshit radar went up. I now believe the whole thing was all an elaborate PR stunt for Blatt, who I think paid The Sun to run the headline as an advertisement for himself. This is just my opinion, I do not claim to know this for a fact or to be able to prove this.
I just happen to know from my own experience with hiring marketing and PR firms, this is exactly the kind of thing they would do or pitch for someone trying to get clients in this sort of ridiculous “industry.” These days the goal for everything is to go viral, and practically all marketing and PR concepts/campaigns are based on this—the goal is to have everyone Googling your name and thinking you’re a professional who the top celebrities use for suppressing sex tapes. The hope is that people who are not celebrities but are afraid of possible nudes or sex tapes out there will seek you out for your services, after all—no one has seen these Luigi tapes, right? Blatt claims to have seen them, but no one else has, so he must be good at his job, eh?
Origins and Content of the Claims
The initial report surfaced from RadarOnline, which cited an anonymous insider claiming that Mangione had created at least 20 "cinema-level" sex tapes, stating, "He wanted to be watched. He got off on it." The “source,” and I use that term sarcastically, further alleged that these videos had many women in them, claiming the women were all hesitant to come forward, fearing “legal repercussions,”—which makes absolutely no sense.
What legal repercussions? For what? Being in a porn? That’s not illegal. Being in a porn with Luigi Mangione? Also not illegal. In fact, if it were true, it would mean these other women had voluntarily filmed “cinema-level” sex tapes with someone who now has huge public support and is wildly popular, which you would think would motivate them to release it. There’s no allegation anyone did anything against their will or was secretly filmed without their knowledge; typically people who voluntarily film “cinema level” pornography do so intending to make money from it. With Mangione’s high profile arrest and cases, if these existed, they would become the hottest-ticket items in existence. Which is why I do not buy that they exist.
The only evidence provided for these claims are some very grainy, terrible still photos of Luigi, which look like basic bathroom selfies everyone has taken of themselves at some point. These could’ve been pulled off of his phone, his iCloud, or from private texts or DMs he sent. Nothing to back up claims about “cinema quality” films, with the entirety of this claim made by an unnamed “insider.” What in the hell does “insider” even mean? An insider where? They don’t even say if it’s a person claiming to know Luigi personally or if it’s someone from the police, the prosecution, a friend, who? An “insider” with whom?
In my opinion, it’s all a viral marketing tactic by Blatt, the intent of which was simply to provide a fake, viral headline for Blatt to “comment” on in a way that advertises his services. After the initial salacious, sourceless claims made the initial rounds, next Blatt was featured as the “expert” commenting on the matter. He then claims to have seen the films, that they are actually not high-quality, they’re just grainy videos taken from Luigi’s parents’ bathroom, that he sent to someone on Grindr. With this claim, he plants another seed about Luigi’s sexuality, while artificially positioning himself as an expert/insider who has “seen” the footage.
Once the initial story ran in RadarOnline, The Sun quickly ran stories echoeing the allegations, using the same quotes from the unnamed “insider,” emphasizing the purported high production quality of the videos and Mangione's alleged desire to establish his own "porno empire." The article also noted that Mangione had sent unsolicited nude photos to women, despite reportedly expressing concerns about porn addiction hindering real-life relationships. Again, I believe that if there were nudes of Luigi Mangione out there, we’d have them. There would be no way to prevent the people in possession of something like that from selling them or releasing them, in my opinion.
Blatt, the self-proclaimed, number one celebrity sex tape broker, claims someone approached him trying to sell a grainy, low quality video of Luigi for half a million dollars. Guess what? If this were true, and Blatt passed on it, the seller would just keep going lower and lower in number to more outlets. Blatt uses the same article as an opportunity to state that Ye, formerly Kanye West, paid him $250,000 to suppress a sex tape of himself with a sex worker. Imagine me rolling my eyes as dramatically as eyes can be rolled.
Assessing Source Credibility
The primary sources of these allegations—RadarOnline and The Sun—are widely recognized for their tabloid journalism, often prioritizing sensationalism over rigorous fact-checking. The reliance on unnamed insiders and the lack of verifiable evidence further undermine the credibility of these reports.
The dissemination of such dubious information raises critical questions about intent. Who stands to benefit from tarnishing Mangione's reputation with potentially unfounded claims? Conversely, who is harmed by the public's acceptance of these narratives?
Personal Commentary and Speculation
It's worth acknowledging that in today's digital age, many individuals, particularly younger adults, engage in sharing intimate content or recording personal sexual encounters. The notion that Mangione might have personal recordings isn't inherently shocking. However, the assertion that these are high-budget productions invites skepticism. If true, questions arise: Was Mangione self-producing these videos, potentially utilizing family resources? Or was he acting in externally produced adult films? Both scenarios seem implausible without concrete evidence.
This situation also evokes parallels to historical instances where government programs, such as MK-Ultra, allegedly manipulated individuals into compromising situations. Could these rumors be part of a broader strategy to discredit Mangione? Alternatively, if the tapes do exist, might they support theories of external coercion or manipulation? While speculative, these possibilities merit contemplation.
I personally do not think these videos exist, but I do buy that there may be some nude selfies out there. He is a 26-year old! I don’t know anyone age 40 or younger with a smartphone who has never taken a single nude of themselves. The allegations surrounding Luigi Mangione's purported sex tapes are fraught with inconsistencies (are they grainy selfies or highly produced, cinema quality films?) and originate from highly questionable sources (unnamed insider and a guy who profits off people believing he’s a top “sex tape broker”).
I’ll end with a popular online sentiment: Pics or it didn’t happen. Filed under, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Deep Dives coming this weekend on the December 4th Legal Fund and the official timeline of events for December 4th, 2024 according to the federal criminal complaint, some content will be for paid subscribers only, so make sure to Subscribe and take advantage of the super-cheap Luigi Special below!
I didn’t want to link the original RadarOnline or The Sun articles because I don’t like giving them more traffic to their tabloid trash—but I do have the original “articles" if anyone wants them for citation purposes. Message the chat or comment here if you want them.
You can always tell when they’re out of any real evidence. They start talking about things that have nothing to do with the case. 😆 “High-end productions” turned out to be bathroom selfies. I don’t buy any of it, and even if there’s a shred of truth to it, no one cares as much as they desperately want us to😂