Amanda Knox Says She Wouldn’t Have Become As Vilified Without 'Foxy Knoxy' Nickname

Twice convicted exoneree Amanda Knox has said that she doesn’t think she would have become so internationally vilified after her 2007 arrest and subsequent murder trials in Italy if it weren’t for the rhyming moniker attributed to her by the press.

Knox was 20 years old in 2007 and studying abroad in Perugia, Italy when she and her new boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were accused of murdering Meredith Kercher, her British roommate. Knox and Sollecito went through a tumultuous series of convictions and acquittals that spanned eight years before Italy’s highest court acquitted both of Kercher’s murder for a final time in 2015. Knox spent about four years in an Italian prison. 

Throughout the ordeal, the Seattle woman became the victim of salacious and intense media coverage in Italy, Britain, and other parts of the world. She was notoriously dubbed “Foxy Knoxy” by the tabloid press during her ignominious time in the spotlight. 

Knox, 33, discussed her enduring moniker in an upcoming episode of comedian Whitney Cummings’ podcast “Good for You.” Cummings asked Knox if she feels her story would have gone global if her name didn’t rhyme with “fox," as seen in a clip shared with People.

With confidence, Knox replied, “no,” and added that the nickname had an even more sinister meaning in Italian media outlets.

"They would translate 'Foxy Knoxy' into 'evil fox,'" she explained. "The translation sort of twisted into, 'the cunning fox.'"

Knox went on to explain that even the English meaning of the adjective “foxy” just didn’t gel with her personality.

"At the time, that was not me," she told Cummings. "I was not walking around the world being like, 'Oh, I'm the prettiest girl in the room.' That did not occur to me. Also, I was never treated that way."

The “Foxy Knoxy” moniker was originally latched onto by the media after a Daily Mail reporter discovered that she used it on her MySpace page. Her parents later said that it was actually an old nickname from when she played soccer as a child — she was “quick like a fox” on the field. 

Rudy Guede, a 20-year-old Perugia resident, was found guilty in October 2008 of the murder and sexual assault of Kercher. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison, which was reduced to 16 years after an appeal. In an interview from jail in 2016, Guede maintained his innocence and said that Knox was at the scene of the crime that night in 2007. He was released from prison early in December.

Knox told “Good Morning America” after Guede’s release that the "burden" of what he did has landed on her because of the global media circus surrounding the murder and her trials.

"I am the one who has been condemned to live with his infamy," she said. "And while I can't say that I wish him suffering or imprisonment, I do wish that he had been fully held accountable for what he did and that he acknowledged what he did, and I don't know if that will ever happen."

Knox is now an author and activist. "Waiting to Be Heard," her 2013 memoir, was a best-seller.