Publisher Merriam-Webster has shown it can troll the best of them online by “spitting out” the latest comments from Amanda Knox.
Knox is known for her connection to the 2007 murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher, for which she was wrongly convicted and spent nearly four years in an Italian prison. Both were then students studying abroad in Perugia, Italy. After Knox was tried again, he was found not guilty of the murder.
Knox has since returned to the United States, where she writes and hosts a true crime podcast. She has been the subject of a number of films and documentaries.
Knox has now made a thinly veiled reference to her student days abroad and what happened to her on her Twitter account.
Later Tuesday, Knox tweeted a link to her 138,900 followers detailing one person’s experience studying abroad in Florence. The NYU coed apparently “hated” every aspect of her sabbatical in Italy.
“Girls, what are you talking about? Studying abroad is great!” Knox wrote about the article on Twitter. She has not made a follow-up comment on the tweet since. However, thousands of people have flocked to the comments section, including dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster.
Merriam-Webster’s Twitter account often tweets about literary terms, using Knox’s comment as an excuse to share a definition of one.
In response to Knox’s comment, the account simply shared a link to Merriam-Webster’s website with the “definition of SPIT TAKE.” “The spitting out of a drink in response to something funny or surprising, particularly for comedic effect,” is his definition.
The folks at Merriam-Webster weren’t the only ones who seemed in disbelief after reading Knox’s tweet.
“Disgusting, tasteless comment. In some cases, humor just can’t be applied,” wrote Twitter user @hol_lisa.
“Self-respect is more valuable than attention” wrote British activist Brendan Coxthe widower of former British MP Jo Cox.
“I’m sure the family of the 21-year-old who was brutally murdered while studying abroad will find your joke hilarious.” wrote the British journalist Lauren Franklin. Many other Brits joined in with respectful “RIP” comments for the late British student Kercher.
Not everyone was offended by Knox’s tweet, however, as a number of people praised her for the joke.
“You won the internet for today, Amanda. You can sit back and relax.” commented health and science reporter Benjamin Ryan. A number of verified Twitter users, including journalist Kat Duncan, lawyer and writer Tauriq Moosa, and Tony Award-winning actor David Alan Grier, responded with laughter or emojis.
“Love this tweet of yours,” wrote author Leslie Feinzaig, while TV journalist and podcaster Elizabeth Vargas simply posted “Touché” with a winking emoji.
This isn’t the first time Knox has made a humorous reference to the Kercher case. September 2021, She shared a meme picture who asked the question: “You meet your 18 year old self, you get to say 3 words. What do you say?” Knox wrote in response: “Study in Germany”.
