JK Rowling’s alleged drastic act amid Olympian Imane Khelif’s lawsuit

A social media post claiming famed author JK Rowling deleted a raft of tweets related to boxer Imane Khelif has set off a fresh firestorm.

A fresh social media storm has erupted involving Harry Potter author JK Rowling and Olympic boxing gold medallist Imane Khelif.

Algerian boxer Khelif emerged as one of the biggest stories of the recent Paris Games after it came to light early in the competition the International Boxing Association had disqualified her from a 2023 world championship over unspecified gender tests.

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The situation then escalated after tearful Italian boxer Angela Carini quit her second-round bout against Khelif after just 46 seconds, stating she “had to preserve my life”.

Carini later apologised to Khelif, but a number of high-profile world figures — including Rowling, X owner Elon Musk and Donald Trump — posted tweets deriding Khelif, labelling her a “man” and slamming the decision to allow her to continue competing.

Rowling and Musk were then named in a legal complaint filed by Khelif, who was feted at home in Algeria following her gold medal-winning performance.

Imane Khelif and JK Rowling. Photos: AFP/Getty Images

On Wednesday, a tweet that appears to originate from retired American Navy veteran Travis Akers, claimed Rowling had deleted a wide range of tweets since the lawsuit dropped and the prominent social media user had gone silent on the platform for almost two weeks.

“J.K. Rowling has deleted 27 tweets since being named in a lawsuit brought by Olympic Women’s Boxing Gold Medalist Imane Khelif,” the tweet read.

“Rowling has also not tweeted in 13 days.”

Akers then added a screenshot of data apparently showing the number of tweets that were deleted by Rowling’s X account from August 15-18, although it does not specify the tweets.

Akers’ claim has since been repeated by a number of social and media outlets, including an X account named Creepy.org, which has 1.6 million followers.

Akers had a dig at the Creepy tweet, replying: “Dang, you lifted me verbatim.”

But the accuracy of that tweet has since been widely questioned.

JK Rowling is deleting tweets pic.twitter.com/SqFfMFVFUi

— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) August 20, 2024

A quick check of Rowling’s account by news.com.au shows a number of tweets and reposts from the famed author related to Khelif are still on her account as of Thursday evening (AEST).

One of the tweets that allegedly could be part of the lawsuit, posted on August 1 by Rowling with a photo of Khelif patting a distressed Carini on the back, is still online.

“Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better?” Rowling wrote.

“The smirk of a male who’s (sic) knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered.”

That post alone has generated over 50,000 comments and nearly 450,000 likes

A prolific tweeter and outspoken voice on trans and gender issues, Rowling has tweeted 18,300 times since joining the platform in 2009 and has 14.2 million followers.

Imane Khelif celebrating her gold medal on the Olympic podium. (Photo by MOHD RASFAN / AFP)

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune presents an award to Khelif. (Photo by ALGERIAN PRESIDENCY FACEBOOK PAGE / AFP)

The 59-year-old has not added any content to the site since August 8.

She reposted two tweets about the women’s boxing competition that day and wrote her own, quoting a line about asylum seekers and bigotry from an article in The Times.

There are two other tweets written by Rowling that are still online, one accusing the International Olympic Committee of allowing “a male to get in the ring with (Carini)” and another rejecting claims criticism of Khelif was somehow trans-based.

“The idea that those objecting to a male punching a female in the name of sport are objecting because they believe Khelif to be ‘trans’ is a joke,” she wrote.

“We object because we saw a male punching a female.”

Whether she deleted any other tweets related to Khelif remains unclear.

But it would seem there is little credibility in Akers’ claim, while the world waits to see the next steps in the lawsuit against the global identities.

JK Rowling hasn’t posted on the social media platform for almost two weeks. (Photo by Tolga Akmen / AFP)

Khelif’s lawyer, Nabil Boudi, described the alleged abuse and misinformation published online about Khelif as a “digital lynching” in a statement released earlier this month.

He told Variety both Rowling and Musk were named in the complaint and an investigation would also examine Trump’s conduct during the social medial flurry.

“Trump tweeted, so whether or not he is named in our lawsuit, he will inevitably be looked into as part of the prosecution,” Boudi said.

He added the legal complaint was filed against X, which under French law means the prosecutor’s office “has all the latitude to be able to investigate against all people”.

The controversy over Khelif’s eligibility began with speculation over the 25-year-old’s disqualification by the International Boxing Association from a world championships event in 2023 for allegedly failing unspecified gender tests.