Amanda Knox Condemns Matt Damon For Profiting Off Of Stillwater Film 'That Distorts My Reputation'

It’s safe to say Amanda Knox will not be tuning into Matt Damon’s latest film release, Stillwater, which is “loosely based” on her own life.

Ahead of the drama’s release on Friday, the controversial public figure is speaking out against the flick and its creators for profiting off of her name and story without consent. As you’ll recall, Knox is most known for being acquitted of murdering Meredith Kercher, her study abroad roommate, in 2007. She served four years (of a 26-year sentence) in an Italian prison before the case was overturned.

While Damon’s new movie is based on an entirely fictional plot, the 34-year-old insisted the similarities will cause harm to her reputation. Taking to Twitter on Thursday, Amanda questioned:

“Does my name belong to me? 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.”

Much of Amanda’s complaints stem from Thursday’s Vanity Fair interview with the film’s director and writer Tom McCarthy. In the chat, he explained that he and his collaborators were inspired to write the drama “loosely based” on the “Amanda Knox saga” because they were so “riveted” by the “layers to that story,” adding:

“We decided, ‘Hey, let’s leave the Amanda Knox case behind.’ But let me take this piece of the story–an American woman studying abroad involved in some kind of sensational crime and she ends up in jail–and fictionalize everything around it.”

Well… according to Knox herself, the case was not left behind. Taking insult to the phrase the “Amanda Knox saga,” the Seattle native expressed:

“I want to pause right here on that phrase: ‘the Amanda Knox saga.’ What does that refer to? Does it refer to anything I did? No. It refers to the events that resulted from the murder of Meredith Kercher by a burglar named Rudy Guede.”

She also urged that if it weren’t for “the shoddy police work, prosecutorial tunnel vision, and [Italian police’s] refusal to admit their mistakes,” she would never have been forced to experience that “saga” and her name would not be associated with the tragic death of Kercher. Yet, because of those errors, her name continues to get dragged in the mud all these years later, while the real perpetrators are largely forgotten. Knox stressed:

“Everyone else in that ‘saga’ had more influence over events than I did. The erroneous focus on me by the authorities led to an erroneous focus on me by the press, which shaped how I was viewed. In prison, I had no control over my public image, no voice in my story.”

She went on to say:

“This focus on me led many to complain that Meredith had been forgotten. But of course, who did they blame for that? Not the Italian authorities. Not the press. Me! Somehow it was my fault that the police and media focused on me at Meredith’s expense.”

She even included a screenshot of a news article in which the only name identified in the case was hers, despite the story being about Rudy, the man convicted of Meredith’s murder in 2008. The Waiting To Be Heard author went even further — reflecting on why word choices matter so much.

Addressing the #MeToo movement, she continued:

“In the wake of #metoo, more people are coming to understand how power dynamics shape a story. Who had the power in the relationship between Bill Clinton and @MonicaLewinsky? The president or the intern?”

“It matters what you call a thing. Calling that event the ‘Lewinsky Scandal’ fails to acknowledge the vast power differential, & I’m glad that more people are now referring to it as ‘the Clinton Affair’ which names it after the person with the most agency in that series of events.”

“I would love nothing more than for people to refer to the events in Perugia as ‘The murder of Meredith Kercher by Rudy Guede,’ which would place me as the peripheral figure I should have been, the innocent roommate.”

Amanda then called out various media outlets she felt continued to damage her “reputation” by leaving out important information in their descriptions of her legal past. To the New York Times (and all her followers), she asked her “saga” not get referred to as “sordid,” explaining:

“Sordid: morally vile. Not a great adjective to have placed next to your name. Repeat something often enough, and people believe it.”

She even claims the movie will confuse viewers now that there are so many comparisons to her real-life story in the press, musing:

“By fictionalizing 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 fictionalization of ‘the Amanda Knox saga’ that is sure to leave plenty of viewers wondering, ‘Maybe the real-life Amanda was involved somehow.'”

In no ways naive, the Labyrinths podcast host mostly just wants the Spotlight director and Good Will Hunting lead to stop associating her story with the film, concluding:

“If you’re going to ‘leave the Amanda Knox case behind,’ and ‘fictionalize everything around it,’ maybe don’t use my name to promote it. You’re not leaving the Amanda Knox case behind very well if every single review mentions me.”

Whoa. To read Amanda’s full arguments, click the Twitter thread (below).

This focus on me led many to complain that Meredith had been forgotten. But of course, who did they blame for that? Not the Italian authorities. Not the press. Me! Somehow it was my fault that the police and media focused on me at Meredith’s expense.

— Amanda Knox (@amandaknox) July 29, 2021

And watch the Stillwater trailer (below) to see just how similar the stories really are…

Reactions, Perezcious readers? This is obviously a complicated issue that Amanda is fed up with. Does she have the merit to be mad? Should Matt and Tom have consulted her before making the film? Sound OFF in the comments (below)?

[Image via Netflix /Focus Features /YouTube]