An American college student has been widely mocked over a whiney op-ed about studying abroad in Italy — including by Amanda Knox, who cheekily quipped that her experience was “awesome.”
“Girl, what are you talking about? Studying abroad is awesome!” Knox, 35, tweeted Tuesday alongside a link to a maligned Insider essay in which New York University student Stacia Datskovska laments that she “hated” her semester in Florence.
Knox, 35, famously spent four years in an Italian prison after she was sentenced in 2009 to 26 years for the brutal 2007 murder of her study-abroad roommate, Meredith Kercher, at their apartment in Perugia.
She and her then-boyfriend, Raffaelle Sollecito, were then both exonerated in 2015.
In the piece, which was published last week, Datskovska says that after a few weeks in Florence, she “grew to despise the sights, hated the people, and couldn’t wait to get back home,” a feeling she attributes to a lack of shared “values” between herself and her fellow students.
Knox is now a writer and podcaster. amamaknox/Instagram
Stacia Datskovska complains about her time in Italy in the much-maligned Insider essay. Facebook / Stacia DatskovskaThe article was quickly excoriated online, with one Twitter user attributing the journalism student’s cringeworthy takes to “no self-awareness.”
The internet, however, was divided over Knox’s own facetious response.
“You have won the internet for the day, Amanda,” reporter Benjamin Ryan replied to the “Waiting to Be Heard” author.
Amanda Knox was studying abroad in Italy when her life was derailed by her roommate’s killing. Daniel Berman/for New York Post
Amanda Knox spent four years in prison in Italy after she was convicted of killing her roommate. AFP/Getty Images“I’ve been thinking about this tweet for 20 minutes and this needs to be framed and put in The Uffizi Gallery,” wrote another commenter, referring to Florence’s preeminent art museum.
But others were offended by her flippancy, with the Times editor Olivia Alabaster writing, “Your roommate was murdered,” which she quickly followed up with “it’s not always about you.”
“I’m sure the Kercher family will really appreciate this attempt at humour,” another disgruntled tweeter replied.
Amanda Knox and her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were both convicted of killing Meredith Kercher before ultimately being exonerated. Raffaele SollecitoIn the years since her exoneration, Knox, now a mother of one, has established herself as a writer and podcaster. She frequently works alongside her husband, Chris Robinson.
Meanwhile, Rudy Guede, the man convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering Kercher during fast-tracked proceedings, was released early from prison in December 2020.
Amanda Knox was only 20 years old when her roommate was killed. APAt the time of his release, Knox slammed Guede, whose DNA was found at the murder scene, as the “forgotten killer” of the salacious saga.
“I am the one who has been condemned to live with his infamy,” she told “Good Morning America.”
“The only reason you know I exist is because [of] what he did, and that is a grave injustice.”
