Amanda Knox defends Edinburgh Fringe comedy show as Meredith Kercher family calls for it to be cancelled
Warning: The below article contains details which some readers may find distressing.
The family of murdered British student, Meredith Kercher, has called for Edinburgh Festival to cancel a show being put on by Amanda Knox.
Knox made headlines in 2007 when she was accused and then convicted of the murder of 21-year-old Kercher, who was her housemate at the time.
Knox's then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, was also arrested on suspicion of killing the student, and the couple were both found guilty initially.
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Kercher was found dead in the house they shared, after her throat had been cut and she showed signs of sexual assault.
Knox spent four years in prison in Italy, before the couple had a successful appeal which saw them be acquitted, and she went home to the US in 2011.
She is now married with two children, and lives in Washington.
However, despite the first acquittal, a retrial in 2014 reinstated both Knox and Sollecito's convictions.
The appeals court finally overturned their convictions in 2015.
Now, Knox is set to perform a show, called Cartwheel, at the famous Edinburgh Fringe festival.
The title is a reference to media stories that ran at the time, which claimed she was doing cartwheels at the police station following Kercher's death.
She says the show is all about motherhood, and how she will explain what happened in Perugia, Italy, to her young daughter.
'Think about the family'
Meredith's sister, Stephanie Kercher, has hit out at the decision to put on the show.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, she had a message for Knox, pleading with her to 'think about the family here, think about her friends and to turn the tables if it was your sister that this had happened to, because I know you have a sister as well.'
Knox insists the show honours Kercher's memory.
She said in an interview with The Telegraph: "I don't joke about Meredith's death. I joke a lot about how I was vilified, but I don't joke about her murder."
She was asked if Meredith would have enjoyed the show or found it funny, to which Knox responded: "Yeah, I think so. I mean, it is funny!".
Stephanie disagreed: "Meredith absolutely wouldn't find these topics of any comedy value."
She said: "Our family's pain is immense. I can't explain to you how much pain our family have been through, and also we're talking two decades later now, this pain."
Stephanie insisted Knox is 'naturally free to continue with her life as she wishes,' but the 'problem with this particular project is that it is comedy.'
“It’s not about whether people think she’s guilty or innocent, if someone else was doing the show specifically against Meredith, I would still feel the same, it is obviously an added wound that it’s coming from her at the same time, but I do feel very strongly that it should be something that’s not given a platform,” she said.
According to The Telegraph, the family's lawyer, Francesco Maresca, called the show 'offensive and deplorable'.
Petition to be cancelled
More than 4,500 people have signed a petition calling for the show to be cancelled.
Knox hit out a the petition, saying it 'contains many false assumptions and completely mischaracterizes the show'.
She said: "Cartwheel honors Meredith Kercher's memory and calls out the violence that was done to her and me...
"Many of the Fringe's most celebrated comedy shows tackle difficult subjects including grief, trauma, mental health, addiction, illness, identity and politics."
Stephanie said: "It's not just our family that feels this pain, and I do think this is something that needs to be looked at, because it sets a precedent for anyone else to do a show like this."
"I think that if it was a generic theme, as many comedy shows are, even when they're pushing the boundaries, it would be different," she added.
"Because this is associated with an individual case and individual person, I think that's where the worry lies here for me, because who else is this going to then open up this opportunity for."
Knox has also written two books about her experience in Italy and her time in prison, and also produced a show called The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox.
Rudy Guede was found guilty of murdering Kercher, and served 13 years of a 16-year sentence after his fingerprints were found at the scene.
The court ruled that he did not act alone, but no other accomplices were convicted following the acquittal of Knox and Sollecito.
Topics: True Crime, Crime, UK News
Jen Thomas