There is no denying it: something is very off about former hedge-fund manager Martin Shkreli, and his lawyer is here to convince you it’s not an monstrous scheme to make vital meds prohibitively expensive, or allegedly defrauding investors, or being a huge jerk whenever humanly possible.




Shkreli, who appeared in court on Wednesday, faces charges related to defrauding investors, although he is probably best known (and most hated) for raising the price of Daraprim, a drug used to treat newborns and HIV patients that’s been on the market for decades, from $13.50 to $750.

According to the Washington Post, Benjamin Brafman, Shkreli’s attorney, assured the federal court in Brooklyn on Wednesday that Shkreli is not a criminal. He’s just a money-making genius with an Addams-Family-goes-to-American-Apparel vibe that creeps people out sometimes. “Is he strange?” Brafman asked the court. “Yes. Will you find him weird Yes. But [his investors] used his genius and made millions… Despite his flaws and dysfunctional personality, Martin Shkreli is brilliant beyond words.”


Then Brafman went too far, even for a court appearance featuring a giggly scam artist who appears sick with evil, when he told the court, “As Lady Gaga would say: He was born this way.”

At least he didn’t try to quote “The Cure.”

Other than that, everything’s good.