Susan Sarandon condemns US plan for live-streamed execution at Rome festival

A festival appearance turns political

Susan Sarandon spoke to the press in Rome on 13 October while presenting The Accompanist, the debut feature directed by Zach Woods, at Alice nella Città. The 24th edition of the festival runs alongside the Festa del Cinema di Roma and is dedicated to young audiences and new talent. Sarandon is receiving the Womenlands Excellence Award 2026 there, and Corriere della Sera reported that she had arrived in Rome the previous day, 12 October. ANSA described the film as an intense social drama with a touch of magical realism. Sarandon, who turned 80 on 4 October, used the occasion to address politics as well as her film.

Attack on the planned execution broadcast

Her main target was Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whom she said must have been 'high as a kite' when he proposed showing an execution on television. She said she would probably get into trouble for saying so. AGI reported that an execution by firing squad, streamed live, was set for 2 December. Corriere della Sera and Adnkronos identified the condemned man as Nidal Malik Hasan, the former military psychiatrist who carried out the 2009 Fort Hood shooting. Sarandon called the idea the perfect example of a lack of morality and sensitivity in the US government, which she said was infected by toxic masculinity, and she accused the Trump administration of depravity. She said the only positive result was that the announcement had restarted the debate on the death penalty.

Warnings about the executioners and the wider world

Sarandon said most of the world does not even have the death penalty. She said the last comparable footage she could recall was from ISIS videos, and she argued that a live broadcast of a killing carried out in cold blood would damage the lives of the people who fired. According to her, the condemned man is in a wheelchair and cannot defend himself. She also compared the spectacle to the lynchings of Black men hanged from trees during slavery, while crowds gathered to watch, calling it extremely dangerous, terrible and deeply inhumane.

Gaza and Lebanon

Sarandon linked the execution debate to the war in Gaza, saying that thousands of people are still being killed while a ceasefire is in place. She said children are still being shot in the head by snipers, buried alive and left to starve, and that this cannot be allowed to become normal. AGI reported that she cited more than 2,000 people killed in Lebanon, and she urged journalists in the room not to lower their guard on Gaza and Lebanon. Adnkronos reported her view that being arrested is one of the reasons it matters to speak out on Gaza. She was arrested briefly in New York a few weeks earlier, during a protest held as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly. Il Fatto Quotidiano said police arrested her at a protest against the Israeli government in front of the UN building.

Press meeting and award

Sarandon met reporters at the Nobu Hotel on via Veneto, which Corriere della Sera said is owned by fellow actor Robert De Niro, who is also in dispute with the Trump administration. Corriere della Sera reported that Elly Schlein was present in the room. Il Fatto Quotidiano said the Womenlands Excellence Award honours her artistic and personal independence and her activism. The award was presented as part of the festival's opening days, which focus on new generations of filmmakers and talent.