It’s hard to make great jokes about traumatic moments. Personally, I’ve learned to laugh at my life’s toughest moments, but my PTSD routine isn’t a crowd-pleaser. So it’s rare when someone can really ace a stand-up set about something truly terrible. Being wrongfully convicted of the rape and murder of your roommate while you’re living in Italy, for instance. That’s a tough thing to get funny material out of. But Amanda Knox, who executive produced the new Hulu scripted series about the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher, is promoting the show with a stand-up set.
And yes, there’s nothing funny about homicide. But Knox’s criminal trials in Italy were certainly a comedy of errors. She ended up spending four years in prison for a crime she did not commit, and was tried, convicted and acquitted twice for murder and sexual assault alongside her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito. The whole ordeal made headlines world-wide, and for years Knox was the subject of countless news stories and television specials. She even got in a bit of hot water for making a few X jokes about her time in prison back when Trump was elected the first time.
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But all these years later, she’s managed to take control of the narrative a bit more. This includes going up on stand-up stages to talk about her experiences. Knox recently opened for comedian Chris Porter at the Tacoma Comedy Club in Washington. In a video of the event that Knox posted to X, you can hear a few of the jokes.
“You know your 20s were rough when people want to binge watch them,” Knox said. Switching over to talk about the show, she continued, “I’ve been executive producing this show for four years, which incidentally, is the same amount of time I’ve spent in prison. And it’s the same amount of time I’ve spent as a mom.”
“Guess which one’s been the hardest though? Let’s just say that no Italian magistrate ever chewed up a chicken nugget and tried to stick it in my mouth.”
It’s not groundbreaking humor, but it’s pretty fun, made better but Knox’s familiarity and comfort on stage. Then again, it isn’t too surprising that someone who has spent the better part of two decades getting wall-to-wall news coverage could handle a comedy club.
One person on X commented that her delivery was strong. “How long have you been doing stand-up? (If you tell me that was your first time I’m going to die.)”
Knox shared that it was her sixth time on stage; so not her first time delivering the material, but she’s also no seasoned comic. Still, having to testify in front of the media and courts of law about whether you brutally murdered your roommate probably takes the edge off of telling a few jokes to a crowd of strangers.
The exonerated woman even got a major co-sign. On Instagram, Nikki Glaser commented on the video, “Oh she’s got it!”
