Meredith Kercher’s sister attacks Amanda Knox over "joking" about murder in comedy show
The sister of murdered Meredith Kercher has expressed disbelief at how Amanda Knox, previously jailed but later acquitted for the death, is making jokes about rape and murder in a comedy act.
Stephanie Kercher has initiated a petition to cancel Knox’s stand-up show called ‘Cartwheel’ at the Edinburgh Fringe, arguing it treats her sister’s death as entertainment.
Knox was convicted in 2009 of Meredith’s murder and spent two years in prison before being acquitted.
She has already defended the show, stating that she believed her former flatmate would have found it ‘funny’.
Stephanie said: ‘Imagine 20 years after Meredith’s death, your pain is turned into someone else’s laughter.
‘My sister’s tragedy is being used to debut a comedy show this weekend in Edinburgh of all places by the very person who was questioned and taken through the legal system by Italian prosecution.
‘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 promote themselves, and furthermore, when a comedy is linked to an individual case and individual person.
‘I cannot fathom how rape and murder can be joked about, and I cannot understand how one person’s behavior at the police station can be the subject of a comedy show.’
A spokeswoman for Amanda Knox defended the performance, saying the petition made ‘false assumptions and mischaracterizes the show’.
The petition, titled ‘Stop the Amanda Knox “Cartwheel” performance at the Edinburgh Fringe’, has gathered almost 1,000 signatures in 48 hours ahead of Knox’s show debuting in Edinburgh this weekend.
Kercher added: ‘Meredith, my sister, was a very clever and witty person and beloved by many for those very reasons.
‘She was a girl’s girl you could rely on and would have been a strong, courageous woman today.
‘She absolutely would not find comedy surrounding these issues funny, and I believe this contradicts everything that inspirational women are still fighting for today.’
Sally Alington, the creator of the petition, said: ‘I have a personal connection to the Kercher family and so know very well what they have been through since that tragic day in November 2007.
‘To see this distasteful and disrespectful performance being approved under the guise of ‘stand-up comedy’ with ‘adult’ themes when discussing the rape and murder of a young woman is completely unbelievable.
‘This isn’t just wholly inappropriate and hurtful to Meredith’s family and friends; it goes far beyond that. It normalizes and trivializes violence against women.
‘I am urging the organizers from the Gilded Balloon and the Fringe Festival to adjust their moral compasses, do the right thing, and cancel these shows.’
Gilded Balloon said it had no comment beyond a statement given last month defending the decision to host the show.
It said: ‘The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is an open-access festival.
‘As a Fringe venue, we provide a platform for a wide range of voices, in line with the Fringe’s long-standing commitment to freedom of expression (within the bounds of the law) and ensure our audiences can make informed choices.
‘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.’
A spokeswoman for Amanda Knox said: ‘Cartwheel is a show about motherhood, raising a daughter in a world that is unfair and dangerous for women, and what it costs to be the kind of mother who tells her the truth about that.
‘Neither the author of this petition nor anyone who signed it has seen Cartwheel. The petition contains false assumptions and mischaracterizes the show.
‘Cartwheel honors Meredith Kercher’s memory.
‘A petition to cancel a show no one has seen, on the grounds of false accusations intended to shame and vilify a wronged woman into silence, is not an argument against Cartwheel.
‘It’s a fairly precise description of what Cartwheel is about and why it deserves to exist.’
World Affairs Correspondent
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