Amanda Knox condemns Matt Damon film Stillwater for ‘profiting’ from her wrongful murder conviction
‘It reinforces an image of me as a guilty person,’ wrote Knox
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Amanda Knox has criticised Matt Damon and director Tom McCarthy for “profiting” from her wrongful murder conviction.
Damon stars in Spotlight filmmaker McCarthy’s new film, Stillwater, which is partially inspired by what has been described by press as “the Amanda Knox saga”.
Knox, who was acquitted in the case of Meredith Kercher’s murder in 2007, has condemned the new film as well as McCarthy’s use of her name in interviews ahead of its release.
In a lengthy essay, which she also published as a Twitter thread on Thursday (29 July), Knox said that McCarthy’s actions perpetuate the idea that she was involved in Kercher’s death. Knox was wrongfully imprisoned for four years and Rudy Guede was convicted of killing the British student.
Knox also said that McCarthy or Damon did not attempt to speak to her at any time during the film’s production.
“Does my name belong to me?” she wrote. “My face? What about my life? My story? Why does my name refer to events I had no hand in? I return to these questions because others continue to profit off my name, face & story without my consent. Most recently, the film #STILLWATER”
She added: “By fictionalising away my innocence, my total lack of involvement, by erasing the role of the authorities in my wrongful conviction, McCarthy reinforces an image of me as a guilty and untrustworthy person. And with Matt Damon’s star power, both are sure to profit handsomely off of this fictionalisation of ‘the Amanda Knox saga’ that is sure to leave plenty of viewers wondering, ‘Maybe the real-life Amanda was involved somehow.’”
Knox then shared a tongue-in-cheek “screenplay idea” to emphasise her frustrations with how her name has become associated with the film against her will.
“It’s directly inspired by the life of Matt Damon,” she wrote, adding: “He’s an actor, celebrity, etc. Except I’m going to fictionalise everything around it, and the Damon-like character in my film is involved in a murder. He didn’t plunge the knife per se, but he’s definitely at fault somehow. His name is Damien Matthews, and he starred in the Jackson Burne spy films.”
Stillwater follows Damon’s character as he travels to France to help exonerate his daughter, who is in prison for a murder she claims she didn’t commit.
The Independent has contacted Focus Features as well as Damon and McCarthy for comment.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments