Harvard artist-in-residence draws scrutiny over ‘Free Luigi’ remark

Roxane Gay, a Rutgers University professor serving as an artist-in-residence for Harvard Medical School’s Master of Science in Media, Medicine and Health and Media and Medicine Certificate Program, is facing criticism after saying “Free Luigi” during a panel on fatness and healthcare. The remark came Wednesday at Harvard Medical School’s “Against the Pathology of Unruly Bodies” event, a discussion centered on the intersection of fatness and healthcare and the treatment of overweight patients by medical professionals.

According to reporting by The College Fix, the conversation shifted to the health insurance industry when Gay responded, “Free Luigi, for one,” before describing the industry as “equal opportunity evil.” The event listing said the panel would examine how fat bodies are pathologized by medical professionals, the consequences of that approach, and how clinicians can more ethically treat fat patients as people rather than problems to be solved.

Stu Smith, an investigative analyst at the Manhattan Institute, highlighted the exchange in a Wednesday post on X. Smith wrote that at the Harvard Medical School event, Gay answered a question about the health insurance industry with “Free Luigi.” He also said Gay had earlier acknowledged using concierge medicine after deciding to “throw money at this problem” and “buy my way out” of ordinary healthcare. Smith further noted that Gay is a first cousin of former Harvard president Claudine Gay.

Gay later addressed the controversy in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying her comment reflected frustration with the American health insurance system rather than support for murder. She said the industry is too focused on profit instead of providing care that policyholders pay significant amounts to receive. Gay also said she believes many Americans share deep anger toward insurers.

At the same time, Gay said she condemns the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and rejects murder in all cases. She said Luigi Mangione, who admitted guilt in federal court in August to two stalking charges resulting in death, appeared to be dealing with mental health issues when he committed the crime. In her view, incarceration is unlikely to address those issues and may worsen them, though she added that he still must pay his debt to society and that she hopes Thompson’s family feels justice is served.

Mangione still faces a second-degree murder charge, multiple weapons charges and a forged-instrument charge in New York state court. He is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court on Dec. 18 and could face a maximum sentence of life in prison. His state case remains pending.

Gay also said articles about the episode strip away context and lead to harassment and death threats. In a separate part of her statement, she reiterated that Thompson’s killing did nothing to improve the healthcare system and instead caused profound grief for his loved ones. She added that she would prefer a single-payer healthcare system and, at minimum, wants physicians rather than insurance companies making treatment decisions for patients.

Harvard University said in a statement that for the 2026-2027 academic year, Gay is an artist-in-residence for the two Harvard Medical School programs. A spokesperson added that views expressed by speakers at campus events are their own and do not represent Harvard Medical School or Harvard University. Fox News Digital also reported that it reached out to Rutgers University for comment.

Gay holds the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture and Feminist Studies at Rutgers. The episode has since fueled a broader debate over academic speech, public anger at the insurance industry and how far rhetorical protest can go before it eclipses the subject under discussion.