Amanda Knox Defends New Edinburgh Show Amid Backlash From Meredith Kercher’s Family

Amanda Knox is defending her new stage show, Cartwheel, after criticism from people who say the production is insensitive to the memory of Meredith Kercher, the British student whose 2007 murder in Italy led to Knox’s wrongful conviction.

Cartwheel premieres Friday at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. The show focuses on motherhood, raising a daughter and Knox’s experiences following the murder case that changed her life.

Knox was convicted of killing Kercher, her roommate in Perugia, Italy, and spent nearly four years in prison. Her conviction was later overturned, and she was ultimately exonerated.

The title Cartwheel refers to reports that Knox did cartwheels at a police station after being questioned about Kercher’s death. Knox has rejected the criticism surrounding the show and says it does not make light of Kercher’s death.

“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,” Knox said in a statement Thursday.

She also criticized a petition calling for the show to be canceled, pointing out that its organizers and signers had not seen the production.

“The petition contains many false assumptions and completely mischaracterizes the show,” Knox said.

She added that the production “honors Meredith Kercher’s memory and calls out the violence that was done to her and to me.”

The controversy has also drawn a strong response from Stephanie Kercher, Meredith’s sister. During an appearance on BBC Breakfast, Stephanie urged Knox to consider the lasting impact of the case on Meredith’s family and friends.

“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,” she said.

Stephanie described the family’s suffering as “immense,” saying the pain has continued nearly two decades after Meredith’s death.

The petition, started by a friend of Stephanie Kercher, claims that Cartwheel “mocks the horrific events surrounding Meredith’s murder” and attempts to turn the tragedy into entertainment. It also argues that the production could “normalise violence against women by making light of such a harrowing event.”

Knox, however, says the criticism misunderstands the purpose of the show. She argued that comedy and live performance can address difficult experiences without making those experiences the subject of ridicule.

“The festival’s most celebrated comedy shows tackle difficult subjects including grief, trauma, mental health, addiction, illness, identity, and politics,” Knox said. “They use comedy as a way to explore them, creating space for audiences to engage with complex ideas, connect through shared experience, and find moments of relief, perspective and hope.”

The dispute has placed Cartwheel at the center of a wider debate over who has the right to tell stories about traumatic events and whether comedy can responsibly address real-life tragedy.

The show’s Edinburgh premiere will give audiences their first opportunity to see the production for themselves, after weeks of criticism based largely on descriptions of the work rather than the performance itself.