Amanda Knox faces backlash over Edinburgh Fringe show about Kercher case

Amanda Knox’s solo Edinburgh Fringe show Cartwheel has drawn sharp criticism from Meredith Kercher’s family, who say the comedy turns a murder case into performance and crosses a line into exploitation.

Stephanie Kercher told BBC Breakfast that her sister would not have found any comedy value in the show and said it “very much normalises and trivialises violence against women and Meredith in particular.” She also called the production “offensive and deplorable” and backed calls for it to be cancelled. A petition titled Stop the Amanda Knox 'Cartwheel' performance at the Edinburgh Fringe has gathered more than 2,000 signatories.

Cartwheel is a solo show about motherhood and about how Knox will explain what happened in Perugia to her daughter. Knox is “approaching forty, juggling motherhood and finally getting around to being furious about the whole wrongful-imprisonment thing.” Critics say the title references the cartwheels Knox did after Kercher’s death.

Knox, who was convicted and later acquitted over the murder of British student Meredith Kercher, has pushed back against the backlash. “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 said. Knox also said “neither the author of this petition nor anyone who signed it has seen Cartwheel,” arguing that the criticism rests on false assumptions and mischaracterises the show.

Kercher was murdered in Perugia, Italy, in 2007. Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were later exonerated by Italy’s highest court in 2015, after Knox had served four years in prison.