- Is there anything 'Foxy Knoxy' won't do for attention - or money? Amanda Knox's one-woman Edinburgh fringe comedy show reopens old wounds for Meredith Kercher's family
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Amanda Knox's ex-boyfriend has condemned her decision to do a one-woman comedy Edinburgh fringe show, saying: 'It is not an approach I agree with'.
Raffaele Sollecito, who was wrongly accused of the murder of Meredith Kercher alongside his then-girlfriend in 2007, is the latest critic of Knox's show, which began last night and is sold out.
Mr Sollecito, now 42 and a computer engineer, criticised the gig and said he found it 'puzzling' that the tragedy was being used as a 'draw for a comedy show'.
He said: 'I haven't seen it, so I cannot pass judgment on its content. However, based on how it has been presented and promoted, I find it puzzling that a tragedy is being used as a draw for a comedy show.
'Personally, it is not an approach I agree with. I am trying to process and move past what happened in a different way.'
But Knox's ex-boyfriend added: 'I don't believe there is a right or wrong recipe for dealing with trauma; everyone finds their own path.'
A petition to stop the controversial show, which is set to run for 11 nights at the Gilded Balloon venue and has ignited criticism, was set up by a friend of Meredith's, Sally Allington. It gathered more than 20,000 signatures.
The show is called 'Cartwheel' after numerous witnesses described how Knox turned cartwheels following her arrest at Perugia police station and stretched while waiting to be questioned - which she has denied.
She referred to the incident in her performance, saying that she had actually done the splits, not a cartwheel - which was 'a lot harder'.
Knox's one-woman show comedy show 'Cartwheel' (pictured) opened in Edinburgh last night
Raffaele Sollecito (pictured) said of Knox's comedy show: 'It is not an approach I agree with'
Knox also spoke about the infamous crime scene kiss between her and her boyfriend of a few days, Raffaele Sollecito.
The brief embrace was filmed outside the Perugia apartment where her roommate, Meredith, had been murdered and sexually assaulted. It was heavily publicised and led to wide condemnation, with many labelling Knox as cold and lacking appropriate grief.
The Sun reported that Knox said during her show's opening night on Friday: 'Even if I had been dry-humping his leg while making awkward eye contact with the lead detective, that would make me in heat, but it wouldn't have made me a murderer.'
Knox also addressed her murdered flatmate, Meredith, telling stories of how they used to bake together, would swap clothes, and go vintage shopping.
She confessed: 'Meredith was so much more sensible than me', adding: 'After her murder, everyone was so intent on judging me.'
Half of the audience gave Knox a standing ovation on her opening night, with Knox staying to sign copies of her memoir for fans after the show, which was patrolled by police.
But the family of murder victim Meredith Kercher have also condemned the show as 'hurtful' and accused Knox, who has written two books and produced or starred in three documentaries or television series on the ordeal, of making more money from the tragedy.
Meredith Kercher's sister told Amanda Knox she may have been 'wrongly accused of murder' but she was not 'wrongly jailed' as she criticised the show.
Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were caught in an embrace outside the crime scene in 2007
Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, mother-of-two Stephanie said she and her family were 'at odds' as to why Knox – who was cleared of the 2007 killing of Meredith – continually 'insists on making books, films and documentaries'.
Stephanie said: 'It's been almost 20 years now since Meredith was murdered, and it's almost ten years since Amanda's acquittal.
'We have always maintained a discreet silence but every few months she makes another project highlighting what happened.
'She just takes these chances to self-produce books, documentaries, podcasts, which I don't listen to or watch, and now a comedy of all things, and this time it's different and it hurts.
'We have given her room to live as freely as she wants, and she is entitled to do what she likes but I like her to remember us, and I would like people to remember that she may have been wrongly accused but she wasn't wrongly imprisoned.'
Although acquitted of murder with her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, Knox now-39, was convicted of slandering bar owner Patrick Lumumba by accusing him of the killing and was sentenced to three years.
Lumumba lost his job as a result and his livelihood crashed around him. He has still not received any of the £35,000 compensation Knox was ordered to pay, despite her making millions in book advances.
Stephanie added: 'She says she would like to meet us and visit us and explain, and I really would like to know why she thinks what happened to Meredith is worthy of comedy as we just don't get it.
'The public have their own opinions and I'm not going to get into a debate about guilty or innocent but what's clear here is that she is changing the narrative with this Edinburgh Fringe show.
'For us that knew Meredith, it's not comedy, it's violence and the circumstances of a traumatic case that still have an impact on us as a family almost 20 years on.
'There is also an impact on the friends of Meredith, Amanda said Meredith would find it funny, I can tell you she wouldn't. She took issues like this very seriously and would be horrified at what's happening.
'It feels to us, and those that knew Meredith that it's just another attempt to gather attention for herself, it's not comedy and it's not artistry and by associating Meredith with it, it's creating pain for the people that knew my sister.
'If Amanda is talking about highlighting injustices, why has she never raised her hand to explain and point out why she accused an innocent family man of murder, a crime he didn't commit.
'I really would like her to be free of the trauma of this and use her life experiences in a better way and by not associating herself with Meredith. What happened isn't comedy and the Fringe and Amanda should take our feelings into account.
'The themes of violence and abuse towards women are serious and Amanda says she also wants to highlight that but by constantly referring to Meredith that doesn't do any justice to important issues.
'But it seems to us as if Amanda and the Fringe are normalising violence by making it into a comedy that's wrong.'
Knox was convicted in 2009 of murdering then 21-year-old Meredith in Perugia, Italy, before being eventually acquitted in 2011 and then subsequently again in 2015 by the country's highest court.