Amanda Knox says Cartwheel petition mischaracterizes her Fringe show

The Amanda Knox Cartwheel petition has drawn a public response from Knox, who says her Edinburgh Fringe comedy show honors the memory of Meredith Kercher and confronts violence inflicted on both women.

In an Instagram statement reported by Deadline on Aug. 7, Knox said Cartwheel focuses on motherhood, including raising a daughter in a world she described as unfair and dangerous for women. She said the petition made false assumptions about the production and distorted its purpose.

Knox said neither the petition’s author nor its signatories had seen the show. She characterized the cancellation drive as an attempt to shame and vilify her into silence, arguing that the campaign itself reflected themes explored in the performance.

Will Amanda Knox’s Cartwheel go ahead at Edinburgh Fringe?

Yes, according to Deadline’s Aug. 7 report. Gilded Balloon Teviot, the venue hosting the show, said it would allow the run to proceed as scheduled from Aug. 7 through Aug. 17.

The venue said it seeks to provide a stage for a broad range of voices in keeping with the Fringe’s commitment to freedom of expression. Fringe Society director Tony Lankester told BBC Radio Scotland that decisions on a show ultimately rest with its venue, Deadline reported.

There were differing snapshots of support for the Change.org campaign. The Associated Press, in reporting published Aug. 7 by NBC News, put the petition at more than 4,400 signatories. Deadline later reported that it had passed 10,000.

Why are people objecting to Cartwheel?

The petition, launched by Sally Alington, whom Deadline described as a former friend and co-worker of Kercher, alleges that the show mocks the circumstances surrounding Kercher’s murder and turns tragedy into entertainment. That is the petition’s claim, not an established description of the show’s content.

Stephanie Kercher, Meredith Kercher’s sister, separately told the BBC that a comedy treatment “normalizes and trivializes violence against women,” according to the AP. She said Knox was free to live her life but objected to the project’s comic format and said it should not be given a platform.

Cartwheel takes its name from claims that Knox did cartwheels at a police station after she was questioned following Kercher’s death, Deadline reported. The available reporting does not establish the show’s full content or describe audience reaction.

What is the background to the Meredith Kercher case?

Kercher was killed in Perugia, Italy, in 2007. Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were acquitted by Italy’s highest court in 2015, the AP reported. Rudy Hermann Guede was convicted of murder after his DNA was found at the crime scene, according to the AP.

Knox said the petition author and people who signed it had not seen Cartwheel. Her statement did not make that claim about every person who has criticized the show.

This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.