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The CEO of UnitedHealth Group told employees that the insurance giant will continue to prevent “unnecessary care” in a leaked internal video — prompting terrifying trolls to warn him he is “next.”
In an address to employees just days after the shocking execution of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in the middle of a Manhattan street, Andrew Witty, the CEO of the insurer’s parent company, defended its practices in order to “guard against” what he called “unnecessary care.”
“Our role is a critical role, and we make sure that care is safe, appropriate, and is delivered when people need it,” Witty said in a video message to employees that was leaked to journalist Ken Klipperstein.
“We guard against the pressures that exist for unsafe care or for unnecessary care to be delivered in a way which makes the whole system too complex and ultimately unsustainable,” he added.
Witty encouraged employees to “tune out” the criticism of the insurance giant, insisting that the overwhelming backlash “does not reflect reality.”
Witty’s comments sparked alarming backlash from furious social media users — who leveraged threats against the head honcho.
“Dude’s next,” one sinister comment read in response.
“Sir Andrew Witty needs to be killed next,” another echoed.
“I’m glad that killer still on the loose,” a third chimed in.
Several more critics posted menacing memes, including one that showed a clip of a man repeatedly firing a gun alongside the caption, “The critical noise I want Andrew Witty to try and tune out.”
Another showed a meme that read, “You just made the list.”
In the same leaked comments made to UnitedHealthcare workers, Witty also urged employees against talking with the media in light of Thompson’s ruthless broad-daylight slaying.
“You’ve seen a lot of media interest in this situation with a huge amount of misinformation and frankly offensive communication,” Witty told employees, maligning what he called the “aggressive, inappropriate and disrespectful” coverage of Thompson’s murder.
What we know about the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
- Brian Thompson, the CEO of insurance giant UnitedHealthcare, was gunned down Wednesday outside a luxury Midtown hotel in a “brazen, targeted attack,” police said.
- The methodical killer used a firearm with a silencer outside the Hilton hotel along Sixth Avenue.
- The gunman fired at Thompson multiple times, striking his back and right calf before fleeing on foot.
- The NYPD released a new photo of the hooded suspect standing in front of the counter at the Starbucks at West 56th Street and 6th Avenue, just minutes from the Hilton hotel where he gunned down Thompson, 50.
- Thompson was named CEO of UnitedHealth in April 2021. He joined the company in 2004. He was one of several senior executives at the company under investigation by the Department of Justice.
- Thompson’s wife, Paulette, said her husband had been getting threats before he was killed.
- The NYPD is investigating a possible message — which appears to include the words “deny,” “depose” and “defend” — engraved on live rounds and shell casings left behind by the masked assassin.
Follow along with The Post’s live updates on the news surrounding Brian Thompson’s murder.
“People are writing things we simply don’t recognize,” he added.
“I’d like to give you a little bit of advice around the media,” he continued. “My strong advice and request to everybody is just don’t engage with the media. If you’re approached, I would recommend not responding and, if necessary, simply refer them to our own media organization.”
Thompson, 50, was gunned down outside the Hilton Hotel in Midtown just before 7 a.m. last Wednesday, though the NYPD has not yet located the masked assassin responsible — with authorities saying they believe the suspected gunman has already fled the Big Apple.