John Mulaney slammed as he makes risky joke about Gene Hackman and wife's tragic death

During a recent episode of his Netflix series Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney, the comedian dove headfirst into dark humor territory, taking aim at the strange and tragic circumstances surrounding the deaths of and his wife, Betsy Arakawa.

As part of his opening monologue on Wednesday night, Mulaney riffed on the Santa Fe police’s extensive inquiry into the couple’s mysterious passing in February. The pair, aged 95 and 65 respectively, were discovered deceased in their home along with one of their , with investigators believing they had been dead for over a week before anyone found them.

Drawing a sharp contrast between scientific certainty and real-life ambiguity, Mulaney cracked: "Scientists are now like, ‘We believe dinosaurs were killed 66 million years ago by an asteroid. Stop. You don’t know that. We don’t even know how Gene Hackman and his wife died, and we found their whole bodies with full clothes on, one week after the event."

Initially, Hackman’s daughter pointed to possible carbon monoxide poisoning, but after an extended forensic review, officials concluded both had died of natural causes. Arakawa reportedly succumbed to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome - a rare respiratory illness linked to rodent exposure -while Hackman died roughly a week later from heart disease, with Alzheimer’s as a contributing factor.

Mulaney didn’t hold back in his critique of the investigation either. “How about that Santa Fe police?” he said mockingly. "Uh, hello. Press conference No. 470. We now believe that a rat bit Mrs. Hackman, turning her hands into mummy hands.’ Just slow down. You don’t know what happened.”

The timing and tone of the bit sparked mixed reactions online. Some viewers were unsettled by the comic’s approach, with one user commenting: “Just me thinking the Gene Hackman bit was just a tad sickening.” Another echoed: "John Mulaney needs to find some better jokes.... because joking about such a horrific death is not funny and it's simply bad taste."

Someone else complained: "Ugh John Mulaney is pathetic." While another viewer complained: "Gosh, John has gone way too far with this one. Not funny at all. He needs to read the God damn room."

Others, however, praised the boldness of the joke. “That was the best line of the show,” another wrote, while a third added: “Only John could get away with a Gene Hackman joke this soon.”

As of last week, further details about Arakawa’s final days emerged - including reports that she had been googling symptoms and breathing exercises in the days before her death - adding another layer of poignancy to an already bizarre and tragic story.

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