According to the Dailymail, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has named billionaire Elon Musk and British writer and screenwriter Joanne Rowling (J.K. Rowling) for online harassment related to her gender.
After winning the gold medal in the women’s boxing 66 kg category at the Paris Olympics, boxer Imane Khelif (Algeria) has filed a complaint with the authorities in France.
Imane Khelif sues Elon Musk
Imane Khelif claims that she was harassed and insulted on the social media platform X during her time participating in the 2024 Olympics. In particular, Elon Musk and Joanne Rowling have publicly suspected that Khelif is transgender and said that she should not compete in the female category.
Speaking to reporters, Imane Khelif’s lawyer, Nabil Boudi, confirmed that the Tesla tycoon and the Harry Potter author had both committed “serious acts of online harassment”. Imane Khelif’s lawyer also said that the boxer would fight for justice, dignity and honor.
It is known that those prosecuted for online harassment in France are sentenced to between two and five years in prison or fined between £26,000 and £39,000. If prosecuted for online hate speech, defendants can even be fined between £64,000 and £214,000.
Khelif is the boxer who has caused the most discussion and controversy at the 2024 Olympics because she has male chromosomes. Last year, she failed a sex test at an International Boxing Association (IBA) tournament, allegedly because she has an XY chromosome pair.
And things got more attention at the 2024 Olympics when Imane Khelif forced her opponent, female boxer Angela Carini (Italy), to retire after only 46 seconds, sharing that she had never been beaten so hard.
Immediately after this event was widely reported by the media, Harry Potter author Joanne Rowling wrote that she saw “a man punching a woman”. Then, former swimmer Riley Gaines wrote: “Men don’t belong in women’s sports. I support Angela Carini”, while Elon Musk later reposted this article, commenting: “Agreed”.
Regarding the doubts about Imane Khelif’s gender, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently confirmed that Khelif and another boxer, Lin Yu-ting (Taiwan, China), competing in women’s boxing were completely legal because their passports listed them as women.
