Amanda Knox has stated that she believes Meredith Kercher, the British student murdered in Italy in 2007, would have found her new stand-up comedy show humorous. Knox, now 39, was twice convicted and subsequently cleared of the murder before Italy's Supreme Court definitively acquitted her in 2015.
The mother of two is preparing to debut a stand-up show, reportedly titled "Cartwheel," which she says is intended to help her children understand the events that transpired. However, the Kercher family's lawyer, Francesco Maresca, has condemned the show as "offensive and deplorable," expressing to the Scottish Sun on Sunday that he has "lost all hope" that Knox can comprehend the family's feelings.
Meredith Kercher, 21, was discovered dead in the Perugia apartment she shared with Knox in November 2007. She had been sexually assaulted and stabbed. Knox and her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were convicted of the murder in 2009 and sentenced, but were freed on appeal two years later. A third individual, Rudy Guede, was convicted of the killing in a separate trial in 2008.
Maresca stated that Knox's ongoing engagement with the case has hindered any potential reconciliation with Kercher's relatives, characterizing her behavior as "always over the top and extremely excessive."
Knox, reflecting on the show, described Kercher as "really sophisticated and smart, but she was also fun, she was also playful." She recalled their shared activities, stating, "We would put on music together, and we went out dancing. She liked to have a good time."
Regarding the show's potential reception, Knox added, "I think that she would appreciate the show, because it grapples with what it means to be a young woman, and it's honest. Would she have found it funny? Yeah, I think so. I mean, it is funny!"
Knox revealed that her initial concept for the show focused on motherhood, but friends encouraged her to address the murder case. "They said, 'Dude, this is a standard comedic thing. You've gotta address the elephant in the room,'" she recounted.
She asserted that while no subject is off-limits in comedy, she maintains boundaries concerning her friend's death. "I don't joke about Meredith's death," Knox clarified. "I joke a lot about how I was vilified, but I don't joke about her murder. That's just a line for me. I set red lines for myself that other comedians don't. I've had other comedians pitch me jokes that I just would not do."
This stand-up show is the latest in a series of projects Knox has undertaken related to the case since her acquittal. These include two memoirs, multiple podcasts, and executive-producing a Hulu drama titled "The Twisted Tale Of Amanda Knox." The latter, released the previous year, also elicited criticism from the Kercher family. At the time, Maresca informed Newsweek that neither he nor the family were "pleased with the initiatives Amanda Knox has undertaken over the years."