The sister of Meredith Kercher has said a show by Amanda Knox, who was convicted of her murder and later cleared, “normalises and trivialises violence against women”.
British foreign exchange student Miss Kercher was killed in Perugia, in 2007, and her American roommate Ms Knox was arrested and later convicted of murder and sexual assault in 2009 alongside her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito.
The couple maintained their innocence and, after years of legal battles, were acquitted of sexual assault and murder by Italy’s highest court in 2015.
Ms Knox will now perform the show, named Cartwheel, which references a story that claimed she did cartwheels in the police station after her friend’s death, at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe.
Stephanie Kercher told BBC Breakfast: “It’s left a massive void in our lives, and Amanda is naturally free to continue with her life as she wishes, but I think the problem with this particular project is that it is comedy.
“And whilst I appreciate comedy is there to push the boundaries… it very much normalises and trivialises violence against women and Meredith in particular.
“I think in this case it’s a position where it’s not a generic topic, it’s targeting an individual traumatic case and an individual person and family, and I feel very strongly that Meredith wouldn’t agree with that.
“And obviously, I have read certain comments that she’s made that Meredith would have found it funny, and Meredith absolutely wouldn’t find these topics of any comedy value.”
In an interview with The Telegraph earlier this month, Ms Knox said that she believed Miss Kercher would “appreciate the show because it grapples with what it means to be a young woman, and it is honest”, adding that she thought her late roommate would have found it “funny”.
Stephanie Kercher said: “As I mentioned before, this particular project is around comedy, and I think that when you’re broaching that subject in a comedy sort of project, there needs to be an essence of responsibility there.
“And I think that for Edinburgh Fringe, which is very well known for their credibility and their opportunities for artists to come and perform, I think that this is giving a platform to something that really affects more than just my family and Meredith.
“It affects a lot of people out there, and it shouldn’t be given a platform for that specific topic, that’s why I’ve spoken out this time.
“It’s not about whether people think she’s guilty or innocent, if someone else was doing the show specifically against Meredith, I would still feel the same, it is obviously an added wound that it’s coming from her at the same time, but I do feel very strongly that it should be something that’s not given a platform.”
A petition to cancel the show has also been launched, to which Ms Knox said “neither the author of this petition nor anyone who signed it has seen Cartwheel” and added that the petition “contains many false assumptions and completely mischaracterises the show” in a statement posted to Instagram.
It added: “Cartwheel honours Meredith Kercher’s memory and calls out the violence that was done to her and to me.
“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.”
Ms Knox has previously said she would be willing to speak to Miss Kercher’s family about the show, which she claims does not “joke about Meredith’s death”.
She has previously shared her story in documentaries, an eight-part TV drama she produced with Monica Lewinsky, and books.
Rudy Hermann Guede was convicted of Miss Kercher’s murder in 2008. He was released from prison in 2021 after serving 13 years of a 16-year term.
Both Ms Knox and Edinburgh Fringe have been contacted for comment.
