Meredith Kercher's sister has called for Amanda Knox's solo comedy show at the Edinburgh Fringe to be pulled. Stephanie Kercher told the BBC that Meredith "absolutely wouldn't find these topics of any comedy value."
Show details
Knox, who was convicted and later acquitted of murdering the British student in Italy in 2007, is performing her one-woman show Cartwheel at the Fringe for 11 days this month. She says the show is about motherhood and how she will explain the circumstances of her wrongful imprisonment in Perugia to her five-year-old daughter.
The title references an infamous claim, which Knox has denied, that she did cartwheels in the police station while being questioned about her friend's death.
Family's response
Knox says the show honours Kercher's memory and told 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 thinks Kercher would have found her comedy funny, but Stephanie Kercher 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."
On BBC Breakfast, she added: "What I would say is 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."
Petition launched
A petition against the show, set up by close friend of the Kercher family Sally Alington, has been signed by just over 2,400 people. It claims the show disrespects Kercher's memory and risks normalising violence against women by making light of the event. Alington says the show "mocks the horrific events surrounding Meredith's murder" and said Kercher's siblings called it "absurd and a gross trivialisation of their sister's death."
Stephanie Kercher has urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to explore the issue and said she would like to meet him. Speaking to The Scotsman, she said: "I'm very aware that in high profile cases everyone has their own opinions on guilt and innocence and I also agree with freedom of speech. However, when someone is still using Meredith's name to support themselves, and furthermore, when a comedy is linked to an individual case and individual person, I cannot fathom how rape and murder can be laughed about and I cannot understand how one person's behaviour at the police station can be the subject of the comedy show."
Knox's response
In a statement on Instagram, Knox said the petition "contains many false assumptions and completely mischaracterizes the show." She added: "Many of the Fringe's most celebrated comedy shows tackle difficult subjects including grief, trauma, mental health, addiction, illness, identity and politics."
The Gilded Balloon Teviot, the venue for the show in Edinburgh, said they provide a platform for a wide range of voices in line with the Fringe's long-standing commitment to freedom of expression. They added: "Artists and companies choose to participate at our venue and take on the financial and creative responsibility for their work. Amanda's show is a one-woman piece exploring themes of motherhood, presented independently by her."
Background
Since Kercher's death, Knox has written two books and featured in documentaries about her trial and imprisonment. She served as executive producer on the biographical drama The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox and has worked as a stand-up comedian. Knox was housemates with London-born Kercher while they were language exchange students in Perugia in 2007. She was arrested and convicted for Kercher's murder along with her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito in 2009, following a high-profile trial. She served four years in prison before both were acquitted in 2011. A retrial took her back to jail in 2014, before the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation definitively acquitted them in 2015. Rudy Guede served 13 years of a 16-year sentence for Kercher's murder and was released in 2021.
