Journalist Taylor Lorenz Clarifies She's Not Calling for Healthcare CEOs to Be Murdered

Taylor Lorenz -- a controversial journalist formerly of the Washington Post -- is clarifying some of her comments about the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson ... and she says his brutal killing isn't the real tragedy here.

Taylor joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and we asked her what she meant by two social media posts that have gotten a lot of attention in the wake of Thompson's killing ... including one that lots of folks interpreted as her calling for more violence against healthcare executives.

She says she wasn't calling for murder when she shared a photo of the Blue Cross Blue Shield CEO Kim Keck above a post about BCBS announcing it wouldn't cover anesthesia for the entirety of some surgeries.

At the same time, Taylor says she's not sorry about Thompson's killing ... saying she has no sympathy because, in her view, healthcare companies kill thousands of Americans each year by denying coverage, care and treatment.

We pressed Taylor about posting "And people wonder why we want these executives dead" ... she says she's just reflecting a common sentiment held on the internet.

Taylor also doubled down and said she just wants people to send peaceful letters to the folks in charge of our healthcare system to enact change ... and says it shouldn't take a CEO's murder to get media and politicians talking about healthcare challenges facing Americans.