Filmmaker’s Luigi Mangione meme mocks murder of new mom bank CEO in Times Square

BS BULLETIN:

Filmmaker Lexi Alexander posted a Luigi Mangione-themed meme after the fatal stabbing of 32-year-old Bank of America executive Erin Piacenti in Times Square, drawing widespread condemnation online.
Piacenti, a new mother, was killed Monday in what police described as a random and unprovoked attack shortly after returning to work from maternity leave.
Alexander subsequently attacked critics as “hasbara bots” and connected the backlash to Bank of America’s business ties involving Israel.

A filmmaker is facing a furious backlash after responding to the random murder of a young Bank of America executive with a meme invoking accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione.

Lexi Alexander, director of “Green Street Hooligans” and “Punisher: War Zone,” reposted a report identifying 32-year-old Erin Piacenti as the woman stabbed to death Monday in Times Square.

Alexander accompanied it with an image of Batman looking toward the Bat-Signal — except the familiar bat symbol had been replaced with Mangione’s face. Mangione is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan in December 2024 and has since become something of an anti-corporate folk hero among some corners of the internet.

The circumstances surrounding Piacenti’s death, however, were entirely different. Police say Piacenti was simply walking through Times Square when 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros pulled knives from a shopping bag and launched an apparently random attack. Cisneros first stabbed a 68-year-old man before attacking Piacenti, fatally stabbing her in the abdomen.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the attack as “random and unprovoked.” Officers later shot and killed Cisneros after authorities said she refused commands to drop the knives and advanced toward police.

Piacenti was a vice president at Bank of America and had recently become a mother. According to reports, she had just returned to work after approximately five months of maternity leave. She and her husband, Frank Piacenti, were both graduates of Fordham Law School. Bank of America said it was “shocked and deeply saddened” by her death, calling Piacenti a “valued teammate who will be greatly missed.”

Alexander’s post quickly attracted criticism from people accusing her of celebrating or making light of the killing.

She didn’t retreat. Instead, Alexander suggested some of the criticism was coming from supporters of Israel, writing that “hasbara bots” were out “in full swing.” Alexander then connected the controversy to previous efforts to boycott Bank of America and the bank’s favorable investment outlook involving Israeli banks.

“Israel doesn’t care about the woman who got killed, they care about the positive rating Bofa gave them in the middle of a genocide,” Alexander wrote. “There is huge money at stake.”

Alexander also reposted another user’s declaration that she didn’t care about Piacenti’s death.

They released the hasbara bot farm just like the first time when we asked people to boycott Bofa. Israel doesn’t care about the woman who got killed, they care about the positive rating Bofa gave them in the middle of a genocide. There is huge money at stake. https://t.co/9o2TqASS68

— الكسندرا ميراي (@LexiAIexander) September 2, 2026

Alexander, who is German-Palestinian-American, has been a vocal critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza. She was also nominated for an Academy Award for the 2002 short film “Johnny Flynton.”

Meanwhile, Piacenti’s killing remains under investigation. Authorities have said Cisneros had a history of mental-health-related encounters with police but no New York City arrest record. Her brother told Gothamist she had struggled with psychiatric problems for decades.

MY QUICK TAKE

There are plenty of legitimate arguments to have about banks, corporations, Israel, health insurers and Luigi Mangione. Erin Piacenti wasn’t an argument. She was a 32-year-old new mother walking through Times Square when a stranger allegedly attacked her at random. Turning that into a Luigi Mangione meme was always going to produce a backlash — and doubling down ensured the story wasn’t going away.