On August 8, 2026, Amanda Knox defended her one woman comedy show Cartwheel at Scotland’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe after a petition called for its cancellation. Knox said the petition misrepresents material about motherhood, truth telling, and her past, while arguing that the production remembers Meredith Kercher and confronts the violence surrounding both women. Knox said the petition’s author and signers had not attended the show before criticizing it. According to Knox, the production explores her life as a mother and the personal cost of speaking publicly about her experiences, rather than treating Kercher’s death as a punchline. Why Is Cartwheel Facing Backlash? Knox has positioned the Edinburgh Fringe as the right venue for difficult comedy. The annual Scotland festival features stand up, theater, circus, music, and experimental performances, and Knox said many celebrated shows address grief, trauma, mental health, addiction, illness, identity, and politics without turning suffering into entertainment. Cartwheel is scheduled for an 11 day run from August 7 through August 17, 2026. In an August 4 social media post, Knox thanked Edinburgh audiences for filling every seat, suggesting the cancellation campaign has not stopped interest in the performance. The controversy follows Knox’s highly publicized legal history: Knox was convicted in Italy in connection with Kercher’s murder, spent years fighting the case, and was ultimately acquitted. Since then, Knox has written two books, appeared on podcasts and in documentaries, built a family, and expanded her public storytelling into comedy.