Kercher Family Says Edinburgh Show Trivialises Meredith's Death

The Kercher family said the show, which opens this week, trivialises Meredith's death and risks normalising violence against women. Knox, who was wrongfully convicted of Kercher's murder in 2009 before being definitively acquitted in 2015, has denied joking about the murder, saying she only jokes about how she was vilified. Petition initiator Sally Alington, a close friend of the Kercher family, accused the show of mocking the horrific events and said Kercher's siblings called it 'absurd and a gross trivialisation of their sister's death'.

Kercher's sister Stephanie told The Scotsman that her family's pain has been 'turned into someone else's laughter'. A spokesperson for Knox said the petition 'contains false assumptions and mischaracterises the show', adding that Cartwheel honours Meredith Kercher's memory. Venue owner Gilded Balloon said it provides a platform for a wide range of voices in line with the Fringe's commitment to freedom of expression. Rudy Guede was convicted of Kercher's sexual assault and murder in 2008 and released from prison in 2021.