Petition calling for Amanda Knox's Edinburgh Fringe comedy show to be axed gathers thousands of signatures
The change.org petition, launched by a friend of the Kercher family, calling on the show Cartwheel to be pulled had gathered almost 4,500 signatures on Thursday night.
Thousands of people have have signed a petition calling Amanda Knox’s comedy show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to be axed as controversy around the gig grows.
The change.org petition, launched by a friend of the Kercher family, calling on the show Cartwheel to be pulled had gathered almost 4,500 signatures on Thursday night.
Meredith Kercher’s sister Stephanie backed it and appealed directly to Amanda Knox, asking her “how would you feel if it was your sister?”.
She said it turns the rape and murder of her sister into "entertainment".
Speaking during an appearance on BBC Breakfast on Thursday Ms Kercher addressed Ms Knox, who was convicted and later acquitted of Ms Kercher’s murder in Italy in 2007, telling her she had “an opportunity to live her life as she pleases”.
Read more: Meredith Kercher's sister backs petition demanding Amanda Knox Fringe show is cancelled
She said: “This will be the only opportunity [I will take to speak to her] and I would say to say to her, she has the opportunity to live her life as she pleases - an opportunity Meredith hasn’t had - and it’s not for me to tell her how to live her life.
“I would say is [she should] think about her family here, think about her friends and turn the tables, if it was your sister it had happened to, as I know you have a sister as well, how would you feel if there was someone up there associating this with her still and how would you feel if this was your daughter in years to come? Because I think the legacy you leave there is potentially different.”
She reiterated that Ms Kercher’s family did not want to meet with Ms Knox, saying “it’s not a meeting that needs to happen”.
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She said while the family had previously maintained a silence to protect Ms Kercher’s memory, “Amanda has put herself back in the public eye”.
She said her sister’s death had “left a massive void” in the lives of the Kercher family.
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She also said she believed venue Gilded Balloon, which is hosting the show at its Teviot location, should pull the show based on the strength of the petition.
She said: “It’s not about whether people think she [Knox} is innocent of guilty, if someone else was doing the show, specifically against Meredith, I would feel the same.”
She added: “I think the problem with this particular project is it is comedy and while I appreciate comedy is there to push the boundaries, it very normalises and trivialises violence against women and Meredith in particular.”
Family friend Sally Alington, who has known the Kercher family since before Meredith's death in Perugia, Italy, started a petition on Change.org this week calling on the Gilded Balloon and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to withdraw Cartwheel - a show billed as stand-up comedy with "adult" themes, which is centred around the case.
Gilded Balloon has previously said the show is “in line with the Fringe’s long-standing commitment to freedom of expression”.
A representative for Ms Knox said Cartwheel “honours Meredith Kercher’s memory”.
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