Lexi Alexander, who directed the 2008 Marvel film Punisher: War Zone, is facing backlash after she appeared to celebrate the murder of a Bank of America employee in a series of social media posts that have drawn widespread condemnation.
The controversy began after Erin Piacenti, a 32-year-old Bank of America vice president, was fatally stabbed in Times Square, New York, on a day that marked both her first day back from maternity leave and her celebration of a second wedding anniversary. Police say that Pamela Cisneros, 49, of Queens, attacked Piacenti and another person without provocation near West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue. Cisneros was later shot and killed by police after she reportedly threatened officers with two butcher knives.
According to a report published by Breitbart News, Alexander took to her X account shortly after the murder and posted an image of Batman looking up at the Bat-Signal—except the signal in the sky was replaced with the face of Luigi Mangione, who is currently on trial for the December 2024 assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The post was accompanied by a quote from a Bloomberg news blurb that read: “Bank of America vice president killed in Times Square stabbing – BBG.”
The image, which remains on Alexander’s timeline but has been restricted from being embedded, was widely interpreted as a celebration of the killing. In a follow-up post, Alexander dismissed her critics, accusing them of being “Hasbara bot[s],” a term used to describe individuals allegedly working for Israeli propaganda operations.
In another post, Alexander amplified a message from a woman who stated she “didn’t care” about Piacenti’s death and claimed to have received death threats from “Zionists” because of her indifference. In a now-deleted post, Alexander complained that her meme had been covered by more than a dozen news outlets, calling the coverage an “absolute non-story.” She wrote that “nobody knew it was a woman, a mother, low ranking branch manager,” and that the killing “sounded like another Luigi situation.” She added, “I didn’t want to delete it because it was a good opportunity 2 remind people 2 #BoycottBofA.”
Filmmaker’s Background and Career
Alexander, who has described herself as a “Palestinian filmmaker” and was born in Germany to a Palestinian mother and father, has largely worked in television since Punisher: War Zone underperformed at the box office. The film earned just $10 million against a reported $35 million budget. Her directing credits since then include episodes of Supergirl, S.W.A.T., and How to Get Away with Murder.
The New York City Police Department is still investigating the stabbing attacks, and family members of the woman who carried out the attacks said she suffered from mental illness.
The incident has sparked renewed debate about the glorification of violence against corporate figures, particularly in the wake of the Thompson assassination, which has become a touchstone for online anger at health insurers and other financial institutions.
Breitbart News reported that Alexander’s posts remained on her timeline as of this writing, despite the restriction on embedding the original image.
Representatives for Alexander and for Bank of America did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Breitbart News.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2026/09/05/former-marvel-filmmaker-lexi-alexander-cheers-the-stabbing-murder-of-a-bank-of-america-employee/