John Mulaney ripped over ‘sickening’ joke about Gene Hackman death investigation

Comedian John Mulaney’s gag about the investigation into Gene Hackman and his wife’s death during a recent show sparked a strong reaction.

American comedian John Mulaney apparently saw comedic potential in the investigation surrounding the deaths of Hollywood icon Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa.

On an episode of his show Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney, on Wednesday, US time, Mulaney poked fun at the weeks-long investigation led by Santa Fe police into the pair’s deaths.

The two-time Oscar winner, 95, former classical pianist, 65, and one of their three dogs were found dead at their Santa Fe, New Mexico home on February 26, reports the New York Post.

During the investigation, which prompted officials to alter the timeline of events after several bombshell findings, authorities determined that Ms Arakawa died first, followed by the French Connection actor about a week later.

“Scientists are now like, ‘We believe dinosaurs were killed 66 million years ago by an asteroid,’” Mulaney, 42, quipped during his Netflix gig, per Us Weekly.

“Stop. You don’t know that,” he went on. “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.”

“How about that Santa Fe police? ‘Uh, hello. Press conference number 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 comedian added.

Mulaney made the controversial gag during a recent show.

MORE:Horror find inside Hackman’s death house

It wasn’t long before viewers rushed to social media to share their thoughts on the joke, with one person even calling Mulaney’s quip “sickening”.

“Just me thinking the Gene Hackman bit was just a tad sickening,” one person wrote on Reddit.

However, another viewer defended Mulaney’s joke, writing, “Only John could get away with a Gene Hackman joke this soon”.

According to the Santa Fe medical examiner, Ms Arakawa died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome — a rare rat-borne respiratory disease. Her body was found mummified and bloated.

Hackman died from hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributing factor.

One of their three dogs, which was in a crate recovering from surgery, died of starvation and dehydration, a state necropsy report revealed.

Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead at home. Picture: AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

Earlier this month, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office released disturbing images of the couple’s New Mexico home as well as startling police bodycam footage.

Deputies on scene surveyed the vast property, entering the separate rooms where the couple’s bodies were located.

One of their three dogs stayed right near Ms Arakawa’s body when authorities first walked into that part of the home.

Hackman’s body was located in another wing of the sprawling estate that required the deputies to go outside and walk through numerous other rooms, including a bedroom, before reaching the dead actor.

Extensive evidence of rodent faeces at the couple’s home was discovered by health officials who carried out a hantavirus risk assessment test at the property last month.

Findings included a dead rodent and an entire rat nest in the three detached garages, the New Mexico medical investigator’s full report revealed earlier this month.

The report also revealed that MS Arakawa had researched Covid symptoms and considered seeking medical care for her husband in her final days based on her internet browsing history, call logs, voicemails and security footage from stores she visited.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission.

Originally published as John Mulaney ripped over ‘sickening’ joke about Gene Hackman death investigation