Amanda Knox’s ex-boyfriend hits out at controversial Edinburgh Fringe comedy show

AMANDA Knox’s ex-boyfriend has hit out at her controversial Edinburgh Fringe show. Raffaele Sollecito, 42, was wrongfully convicted alongside Knox for the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy, before being acquitted. Amanda Knox’s live show at the Gilded Balloon in Edinburgh has seen her joke about parts of the investigation Credit: Scottish Sun staff Her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito has also hit out at the comedy show Credit: AP:Associated Press He has since joined the line of critics blasting his ex’s show Cartwheel – running for eleven nights at the Gilded Balloon. A petition launched by a friend of the Kercher family claims that Amanda’s show turns her rape and murder into “entertainment”. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! It has since been signed by over 37,000 people. The computer engineer revealed he was “puzzled” that the murder probe was being used “as a draw for a comedy show.” He told the Mail on Sunday: “I haven’t seen it, so I cannot pass judgement 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. “I don’t believe there is a right or wrong recipe for dealing with trauma; everyone finds their own path.” We previously told how Knox, 38, joked about “dry-humping” and dismissed murder trial evidence as “just vibes” in her controversial Fringe debut. Most read in The Sun Over 37,000 people have signed a petition for the show to be cancelled Credit: Getty Amanda Knox has defended her Fringe show Cartwheel Credit: AP Raffaele Sollecito was wrongfully convicted of Meredith’s murder Credit: Reuters Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito outside the crime scene in Italy Credit: AP:Associated Press She addressed several moments in the case – including the kiss with Raffaele outside the crime scene. Knox said: “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.” And on her Foxy Knoxy nickname, given to her by school friends and later picked up by the newspapers, she argued: “Even If my nickname were murder pussy, it wouldn’t make me a murderer.” She added that the cartwheel she was alleged to have done while in police custody was in fact the splits – which is “a lot harder than a cartwheel”. The murder of Meredith Kercher November 1, 2007 – The murder of Meredith Kercher: British exchange student Meredith Kercher, 21, is found dead in the apartment she shares with Amanda Knox in Perugia, Italy. Her throat is slashed, and signs suggest she may have been sexually assaulted. November 6, 2007 – Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito arrested: Amanda Knox, her Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, and Patrick Lumumba, Knox’s boss at a local bar, are arrested in connection with Kercher’s murder. Knox accuses Lumumba of the killing during a police interrogation. November 20, 2007 – Patrick Lumumba released: Lumumba is released after police find no forensic evidence linking him to the murder. He was falsely implicated by Knox during a contentious interrogation. December 6, 2007 – Rudy Guede arrested in Germany: Rudy Guede, a 20-year-old Ivorian man, is arrested in Germany and extradited to Italy. His DNA is found on Kercher’s body and at the crime scene. October 28, 2008 – Guede convicted of murder: Guede opts for a fast-track trial and is convicted of Kercher’s murder. He is sentenced to 30 years in prison, later reduced to 16 on appeal. January 16, 2009 – Knox and Sollecito trial begins: Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito stand trial for the murder of Kercher. Prosecutors allege a sex game gone wrong, while the defence argues that Guede acted alone. December 4, 2009 – Knox and Sollecito convicted: Knox and Sollecito are found guilty. Knox is sentenced to 26 years in prison; Sollecito receives 25 years. November 24, 2010 – Appeals process begins: Knox and Sollecito appeal their convictions. A key focus is the forensic evidence, including DNA found on a knife and a bra clasp. October 3, 2011 – Knox and Sollecito acquitted: An appeals court overturns their convictions, citing errors in the forensic investigation. Knox is freed and returns to Seattle. March 26, 2013 – Italy’s Supreme Court orders retrial: Italy’s Court of Cassation annuls the acquittals, ordering a retrial for Knox and Sollecito. January 30, 2014 – Knox and Sollecito reconvicted: Knox and Sollecito are reconvicted in their retrial. Knox, now in the U.S., is sentenced to 28.5 years in prison. March 25, 2015 – Final acquittal: Italy’s Supreme Court definitively acquits Knox and Sollecito of Kercher’s murder, citing lack of evidence and glaring errors in the investigation. November 2021 – Rudy Guede released: Rudy Guede, the sole person definitively convicted in connection with Kercher’s death, is released from prison after serving 13 years. 2023 – present – Knox’s slander conviction: Despite her acquittal, Knox is convicted of slander for falsely accusing Patrick Lumumba. 2023: The European Court of Human Rights rules that Knox’s rights were violated during her 2007 interrogation. June 2024: An Italian court upholds her slander conviction, a decision confirmed by Italy’s high court in January 2025. Meredith Kercher was murdered in Italy in 2007 Credit: AFP Meredith’s sister Stephanie Kercher backed the petition to stop the show and said said she “could not fathom” how rape and murder could be the subject of a comedy gig. She added: “Imagine 20 years after Meredith’s death, your pain is turned into someone else’s laughter. “My sister’s tragedy is being used to debut a comedy show this weekend in Edinburgh of all places by the very person who was questioned and taken to the legal system by Italian prosecution. “I’m very aware that in high profile cases everyone has their own opinions on guilt and innocence and I also agree with freedom of speech. “However, when someone is still using Meredith’s name to support themselves, and furthermore, when a comedy is linked to an individual case and individual person. “I cannot fathom how rape and murder can be laughed about and I cannot understand how one person’s behaviour at the police station can be the subject of the comedy show.” But the Edinburgh Fringe has come to the defence of Knox’s show, saying they are not afraid of controversy. Tony Lancaster, the director of the Fringe Society, told BBC Radio Scotland: “We’re not afraid of controversy. “The decision as to whether or not (the show) goes ahead lies with Amanda herself and it lies with the venue. “Those are conversations that they can have, but as far as I’m concerned, I believe that if you are opening up a stage and calling it an open access festival and inviting people in to tell their stories, you have to be prepared for some controversy – it’s going to happen. “As sympathetic as we are to individual cases that crop up, and absolutely as a parent, I can relate to the pain that they describe, but that can’t be a criteria, it can’t be one of the lenses that we look through.” Knox has also previously defended her Fringe show amid the backlash. She posted to Instagram: “Cartwheel is a show about motherhood, raising a daughter in a world that is unfair and dangerous for women, and what it costs to be the kind of mother who tells her the truth about that. “Neither the author of this petition nor anyone who signed it has seen Cartwheel. “The petition contains many false assumptions and completely mischaracterises the show. “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. “And the Edinburgh Fringe is the perfect place for a show like this.” Leeds University exchange student Meredith, 21, from Croydon, South London, was found dead in the flat in Perugia, Umbria, she shared with Knox, now 38. She had been raped, beaten and had her throat slit. Knox and then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were convicted of the 2007 killing and sexually assaulting Meredith in what was called a “sex game gone wrong”. Their convictions were overturned and she received a definitive acquittal in 2015. ­Ivorian migrant Rudy Guede served 16 years for the crimes. Knox is now married with two children in the US.