Olympic boxer Imane Khelif breaks down in tears on TV as she hits out at ‘cruel’ Elon Musk

Controversial Olympic boxer Imane Khelif has hit out at Elon Musk for facilitating a “cruel” hate campaign against her.

Imane Khelif has hit out at Elon Musk for facilitating a “cruel” hate campaign against her.

The Algerian became her nation’s first Olympic gold medallist in women’s welterweight boxing and first gold medal-winning boxer since 1996 at the Paris Games this summer.

However, rather than being celebrated for her achievements, her time in France was dominated by scrutiny surrounding her participation.

It came after she was disqualified from the Women’s World Championships last year for failing International Boxing Association’s (IBA) gender eligibility rules.

Khelif has always competed in the women’s boxing division and has identified as a woman since birth.

However, a swath of online hate was directed at her after she beat Italian opponent Angele Carini in 46 seconds, with the likes of JK Rowling, Donald Trump and Musk all directing vitriol towards Khelif.

Meanwhile, unsubstantiated claims she was born a male spread like wildfire on social media, despite transgender citizens not being recognised in her home country.

Olympic boxer Imane Khelif has hit out at Elon Musk for facilitating a “cruel” hate campaign against her.

Khelif has now hit out at Musk for spreading hate against her, which comes after the 25-year-old filed a legal complaint against his ‘X’ platform for facilitating online harassment towards her.

In an emotional interview with French outlet CLIQUE, Khelif said: “Elon Musk was one of the first to attack me during this hate campaign. He posted this video and it was retweeted.

“So, he was one of the first to have spread this buzz, this campaign against me.”

Musk shared a post from American swimmer Riley Gaines which read: “Men don’t belong in women’s sports,” by quoting it and saying “Absolutely”.

Khelif added: “I would say … you hate me but you don’t even know me. I don’t even know why you led this attack. You have been cruel to me, cruel to my family, to my mother.

“At that time, my mother was going to hospital every day.

“So I don’t understand the behaviour of people today. God is my guide, I am a practising Muslim woman. I am a Muslim Arabic woman and I got through this moment.

The Algerian became her nation’s first Olympic gold medallist in women’s welterweight boxing and first gold medal-winning boxer since 1996 at the Paris Games this summer.

“I hope I will be even stronger in the future and come back even more motivated.”

Because Khelif’s lawsuit was filed against X, in French law it means it is against unknown persons.

It accuses Musk and Rowling, among others, of committing “acts of aggravated cyber harassment”.

Her mother, Nasria, defiantly said: “My child is a girl. She was raised as a girl. Imane is a girl who has loved sport since she was six years old.

“I will always be there for her. She’s honoured the national flag. She is our role model.”

While Khelif was able to shut-out the noise and win gold, the hate she received took a silent toll on her.

She said: “And what can I say about this stage? It was not enough. It was a very difficult stage. I could not wait for it to pass. The scenario was very scary.

Rather than being celebrated for her achievements, her time in France was dominated by scrutiny surrounding her participation.

Khelif has now hit out at Musk for spreading hate against her, which comes after the 25-year-old filed a legal complaint against his ‘X’ platform for facilitating online harassment towards her.

“Thank God, all the people of Algeria and the Arab world knew the real Imane Khelif, with her femininity, her courage, her determination.

“Immediately after my opening victory at the Olympics, there was a big uproar from politicians around the world, from big athletes around the world, and even from artists and global stars.

“Elon Musk, Donald Trump... this thing affected me, to be honest. It affected me a lot. It hurt me a lot. I cannot describe to you the amount of fear which I experienced.

“I was afraid that I would say to myself, ‘Why did Imane Khelif insist on this? Why was there big uproar from around the world?’

“I was afraid. But, thank God, I was able to overcome this stage. Thanks to the psychiatrists who helped me to overcome this stage.”

This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission