Amanda Knox Fires Back at Matt Damon After He Said 'Being Canceled Is Worse Than a Jail Sentence'

Amanda Knox is once again weighing in on comments made by Matt Damon.

During the January 16 episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Damon appeared alongside longtime friend Ben Affleck to discuss cancel culture and its long-term impact. While sharing his thoughts, the Ripley star suggested that being publicly “canceled” can feel worse than serving time behind bars.

"I bet some of those people would have preferred to go to jail for 18 months or whatever and then come out and say, ‘No, but I paid my debt. Like, we're done. Like, can we be done?’" Damon said.

He continued, "Like, the thing about getting kind of excoriated publicly like that, it just never ends. And it’s the first thing that… you know, it just will follow you to the grave."

Those remarks quickly caught the attention of Knox, who has previously criticized Damon for starring in the 2021 film Stillwater, which was inspired by her wrongful conviction in the 2007 murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher, in Italy.

Reacting to his latest comments, Knox took to social media and called Damon out directly. Reposting a Variety article about the interview, she wrote, "Another thing Matt Damon could have run by me before putting out into the world.”

After sharing the post, Knox engaged with several users in the comments section.

"Yeah, well, literally going to jail...not so good," journalist Katherine Brodsky wrote. "But frankly, given that some of these ‘cancelled’ people have taken their own lives, yeah, maybe they would have preferred to go to jail for 18 months and be done with it — instead, there's no end to it. No coming back. No being ‘square.’"

"People commit suicide in prison, too," Knox responded.

"Amanda is unfamiliar with the word some!" another user commented.

"You're missing the point," Knox replied. "You don't get to go to prison in secret. It comes with its own stigma and lasting trauma. You don't just get to ‘be done with it,’ personally or socially."

Knox’s life dramatically changed in 2007 when she was wrongfully accused of murdering Kercher while studying abroad.

Authorities discovered Kercher’s body with her throat cut inside the Italian villa she shared with Knox. On July 11, 2008, prosecutors formally charged Knox, her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, and drifter Rudy Guede with murder.

Knox and Sollecito were convicted in December 2009 and sentenced to 26 and 25 years in prison, respectively. Guede received a 30-year sentence, later reduced to 16 years after a separate fast-track trial.

After spending nearly four years behind bars, Knox and Sollecito were acquitted in 2011 when an Italian jury overturned their convictions. However, the ruling was reversed in 2013, leading to a retrial that once again found them guilty.

In March 2015, Italy’s Court of Cassation overturned the convictions for good, fully clearing Knox and Sollecito of all charges except Knox’s slander conviction. The court cited “culpable omissions of investigative activity” and “contradictory evidence” in its decision.

Today, Knox has rebuilt her life nearly two decades after Kercher’s death. She now works as an advocate, author, journalist and podcast host.

Most recently, Knox served as an executive producer on Hulu’s miniseries The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox, which premiered on August 20, 2025.

"I felt like I could finally grieve the young person that I was," she said.

"Someone recently said that what happened is someone stole my sparkle. They didn't just steal my freedom, they stole my sparkle. And seeing her bring it back again — I'm just so grateful to her, that she's honored that for me,” Knox added, referring to the series and Grace Van Patten’s portrayal.