Tag Archives: Amanda

Amanda Knox blasts new Matt Damon flick for profiting of her

Amanda Knox lashed out at the new Matt Damon film “Stillwater” — claiming the movie profits off her real-life struggle for a wrongful murder conviction.

The 34-year-old lamented how her name continues to be associated with a killing she didn’t commit – and is now linked to a film she had no part in making.

“Does my name belong to me?” she wrote in a Thursday tweet storm. “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”

Knox also took issue with the fictionalized character she now feels associated with because the film’s ending veers from actual events in a sinister twist.

Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were twice convicted and later acquitted in the 2007 killing of Knox’s roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy. Although “Stillwater” largely fictionalizes the case, director Tom McCarthy has said Knox’s case inspired the storyline and reviews and promos of the film have noted the premises’ similarity to what happened to Knox.

Amanda Knox said the new film “Stillwater” is profiting off her life story.
VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images

The exoneree took issue with a Vanity Fair article that referred to the case as “the Amanda Knox saga.”

“I want to pause right here on that phrase: ‘the Amanda Knox saga,’” Knox said. “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 went on.

“It refers to the shoddy police work, prosecutorial tunnel vision, and refusal to admit their mistakes that led the Italian authorities to wrongfully convict me, twice. In those four years of wrongful imprisonment and 8 years of trial, I had near-zero agency.

Matt Damon and Abigail Breslin attend the “Stillwater” New York Premiere at Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center on July 26, 2021.
Michael Loccisano/WireImage

Knox shared a headline from The Post that read “Man who killed Amanda Knox’s roommate freed on community service” as an example of how her name continues to be tied to the killing.

“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,” she said.

“But I know that my wrongful conviction, and subsequent trials, became the story that people obsessed over,” she went on. “I know they’re going to call it the ‘Amanda Knox saga’ into the future.”

She then requested that people be conscious of how they discuss the events – and recognize that it’s not her choice that the focus remains on her.

The exoneree also challenged director McCarthy and star Matt Damon to join her on her podcast “Labyrinths.”

The character in “Stillwater” is shown to have a sexual relationship with her roommate, while Knox said she was “nothing but platonic friends’ with Meredith, she said. And the movie’s finale paints the character as “the tabloid conspiracy” guiltier version of Knox, she said.

Amanda Knox lashed out on Twitter over her name being associated to a movie she had no part in.
AP Photo/Antonio Calanni

“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,” she said.

“I have not been allowed to return to the relative anonymity I had before Perugia,” Knox said.

“My only option is to sit idly by while others continue to distort my character, or fight to restore my good reputation that was wrongfully destroyed.”

A spokesperson for Focus Features couldn’t be reached Thursday night. The Post has reached out to Damon’s publicist for comment.



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Amanda Kloots responds to criticism for dating again after late husband Nick Cordero’s death

Kloots said on “The Talk” on Friday that she has started dating again, saying that “it is hard.”

“Both of my husbands, I met doing Broadway shows,” she said. “We became friends first, then we got married. Obviously with Nick, we had a child. I’ve never actually had to date. And I just started dating again and it is so crazy to be dating for the first time at 39 years old. And it’s quite terrifying and really out of your element, and it’s just, it’s hard.”

When she was asked how it was going, Kloots said she has met “wonderful people” and it’s been a “great process so far.”

“I will just say it’s very hard,” she said.

Later Friday, she highlighted a comment from an Instagram user who said “that was fast” in response to her dating again.

“How dare you judge anyone especially someone going through this process,” Kloots posted on her Instagram story, in response to that comment.

She added she will further address the issue soon.

“There’s too much to say and too much that widows deal with to not talk about it,” Kloots wrote. “Until then I will call out anyone who is rude enough to comment like this.”

Cordero, a Broadway actor, died last July after a battle with Covid-19 at 41 years old. Kloots, a former Broadway dancer, regularly updated her social media accounts with updates on her husband’s condition, and said he had battled the disease for more than three months, during which time he suffered multiple Covid-19 complications and had to have his leg amputated.
The two met when they were both performing in “Bullets over Broadway,” and they married in 2017. Together, they have a 2-year-old son, Elvis.
Over the past year, Kloots has shared her journey and grief with her social media followers, saying earlier this year she was “finally ready to go to therapy to address the trauma.”

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Midnight Mania! GOAT Amanda Nunes has been ‘dropping guys’ ahead of UFC 259 bout vs Megan Anderson

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Few are envious of Megan Anderson less than 24 hours removed from her UFC 259 title shot vs. Amanda Nunes. It’s a great opportunity to be sure, but Nunes is a remarkable 10-1 favorite over the Australian, and “Lioness” doesn’t usually win via anything less than a punishing smackdown.

Speaking with Jim Rome, UFC President Dana White explained that (stop me if you’ve heard this before) Nunes is looking better than ever and has been putting beatings on her male training partners.

“She’s one of my all-time favorites,” White said (via MMAFighting). “She doesn’t care who she’s fighting, she’ll fight anybody. One of the sweetest people that you’ll ever meet, very, very easy to deal with, but once she steps inside the octagon, she’s an absolute savage. What’s scary about her right now is Dan Lambert, the guy that runs her team, is saying he doesn’t understand why but she looks better than she’s ever looked in this camp, and she was dropping guys in camp. So this is gonna be interesting.

“I think [Nunes is] the greatest female fighter of all time,” White said. “Personally, I love her. She’s a great human being. She’s the only one that’s held on to two titles and consistently defended both titles.

At the same time, White wasn’t counting out the challenger entirely, as he touted her own finishing ability and punching power. The Australian’s last two wins do come via finish, and she may need one against Nunes.

“She’s defending her 145-pound title against Megan Anderson, who nine of her 11 wins have come by way of finish. [Anderson has] got six knockouts, three submissions—You’ll have some girls that are very talented, very technical, but don’t have that power to knock out another woman. Both of these women have unbelievable power and they can both knock each other out, which makes this fight a very, very awesome fight.”

Insomnia

“The Korean Superboy” should be returning this Summer! Win or lose, Doo Ho Choi’s fights are always a lot of fun.

Israel Adesanya has the opportunity to make history in more ways than one tomorrow night.

Magomedsharipov on Magomedsharipov violence!

Leon Edwards looks jacked ahead of his main event vs. Belal Muhammad.

Which elite Bantamweight leaves the cage strapped with gold? This is my pick for best matchup of the night.

I can only assume this man was involved with the log lady from Twin Peaks.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Unless something crazy happens in the next dozen hours, Glover Teixeira will not be needed as the UFC 259 main event backup. However, we can still admire his tenacious durability:

I have never seen a leg break from this angle. Yikes!

A bareknuckle cross straight down the middle:

Random Land

DUCKS IN A ROW!

Midnight Music: Everyone has a few classic albums that they simply haven’t gotten around to listening to in full. I checked Cracked Rear View off my list — unsurprisingly, most of the songs on the 19th best selling album ever were already at least a bit familiar to me.

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.



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Amanda Gorman recites powerful original poem at Super Bowl LV

Activist and poet Amanda Gorman, who was the country’s first ever National Youth Poet Laureate, recited an original poem before Sunday’s Super Bowl game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Gorman’s poem, “Chorus of the Captains,” celebrated and introduced the three honorary captains — Pittsburgh-based Marine veteran James Martin, who volunteers with the Wounded Warrior Project and works with at-risk kids, Los Angeles educator Trimaine Davis and Tampa ICU nurse manager Suzie Dorner — who were specially invited to the game by the NFL.

Watch her full performance, pre-recorded by the NFL, here:

Gorman, 22, is the first poet ever to recite a poem at a Super Bowl game. “These are the moments I strive for in my lifetime, which is to bring poetry into places that we least expect it, so we can fully kind of grapple with the ways in which it can heal us and kind of resurrect us,” she told Trevor Noah on “The Daily Show.”

The young activist, who has recited multiple original works commissioned by “CBS This Morning,” became a viral sensation when she performed her original poem “The Hill We Climb” at President Biden’s inauguration. She is also the youngest poet to recite a poem at a presidential inauguration

She told “CBS This Morning” co-host Anthony Mason then: “Poetry is a weapon. It is an instrument of social change…and poetry is one of the most political arts out there because it demands that you rupture and destabilize the language in which you’re working with. “Inherently, you are pushing against the status quo. And so for me, it’s always existed in that tradition of truth-telling.”

Gorman’s poem followed musical performances from Grammy-winning artist H.E.R., R&B and pop star Jazmine Sullivan and the Grammy-nominated country singer Eric Church. Grammy-winning H.E.R. sang “America The Beautiful,” while Sullivan and Church gave an original rendition of the national anthem. ASL performer Warren “Wawa” Snipe signed the two songs as well.



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Amanda Gorman signs with IMG models

Written by Oscar Holland, CNN

Less than a week after enrapturing audiences at President Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony, America’s youth poet laureate Amanda Gorman has signed with one of the world’s biggest modeling agencies.

On Monday, the 22-year-old Harvard graduate completed a deal with IMG Models, which represents fashion heavyweights like Kate Moss and Gisele Bündchen, the agency confirmed to CNN.

Gorman was one of the breakout stars of last week’s presidential inauguration, where she read her powerful poem “The Hill We Climb.” As well as moving onlookers in Washington and around the world, the Los Angeles native also impressed with her vivid fashion choices.

Amanda Gorman speaks at the inauguration of US President Joe Biden at the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2021. Credit: Patrick Semansky/AP

In a yellow double-breasted coat by Italian designer Miuccia Prada and a red satin Prada headband, the poet and activist stood out against the more muted crowd behind her. She completed the outfit with jewelry — gifted to her by Oprah Winfrey — by independent designers including New York-based brand Of Rare Origin and the Greek jewelry maker Nikos Koulis.

In the days since being thrust into the global spotlight, Gorman has made a number of high-profile public appearances. CNN’s Anderson Cooper said on air that he was “transfixed” by the poet during an interview shortly after the inauguration. During a virtual appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” on Tuesday, meanwhile, DeGeneres “endorsed” Gorman for president, though she is still 13 years below the minimum age required for a presidential run.
Gorman’s forthcoming books, “Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem” and “The Hill We Climb and Other Poems,” are currently at the top of Amazon’s bestseller list.

‘Wow, you’re awesome’: Cooper left speechless by youth poet laureate

As well as representing full-time models, IMG has a variety of figures from the entertainment world on its roster, including Chrissy Teigen and Selena Gomez, as well as musicians, actors and sport stars like Naomi Osaka. The agency’s latest deal will see it develop endorsements and editorial opportunities for Gorman in the fashion and beauty sectors.

Though Gorman has yet to issue a statement about the deal, she recently spoke to Vogue about her interest in fashion. In an interview published shortly before the inauguration, she told the magazine that she would be incorporating her “own type of symbolism” into last Wednesday’s outfit.

“(Fashion) has so much meaning to me, and it’s my way to lean into the history that came before me and all the people supporting me,” she is quoted as saying.

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