By Rozina Sabur
JK Rowling and Elon Musk have been named in an online bullying lawsuit filed by an Olympic champion boxer embroiled in a gender eligibility row.
Imane Khelif, who won gold for Algeria in the women’s 66kg title, triggered heated debate when she was allowed to compete at the Paris Games despite failing a sex test last year.
JK Rowling and Elon Musk have been named in an online bullying lawsuit filed by Olympic champion boxer Imane Khelif.Credit: Nathan Perri
On Tuesday night, Khelif’s lawyer revealed Rowling and Musk had been named in a criminal complaint the boxer has filed with French authorities.
“JK Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others,” Nabil Boudi toldVariety.
He suggested Donald Trump would also be part of the investigation by the Paris prosecutor’s office. The lawsuit alleging Khelif suffered “aggravated cyber harassment” was filed against unknown persons.
Under French law, that grants the prosecution “the latitude to be able to investigate against all people”, according to Boudi, including people who used pseudonyms online.
Imane Khelif celebrates winning gold in Paris.Credit: Getty Images
Both Rowling and Musk have referred to Khelif as a man as they discussed the controversy over the boxer’s eligibility at the Olympics with their considerable online followings.
“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.
Khelif has repeatedly insisted she is a woman and said her Olympic gold medal had a “special taste” coming after a barrage of abuse online.
In the lawsuit, the boxer claims to be the victim of “misogynistic, racist and sexist” cyberbullying, which her lawyer described as a “digital lynching”.
The Algerian drew some of the biggest headlines of the 2024 Olympics after Italian boxer Angela Carini withdrew 46 seconds into their match-up, wept and refused to shake Khelif’s hand.
Carini said she had never been hit so hard by a punch. The match prompted international scrutiny of Khelif, with world leaders and celebrities weighing in to question the boxer’s eligibility.
Rowling posted an image of Khelif and Carini following the fight saying: “The smirk of a male who 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.”
In another tweet, the Harry Potter author said: “I don’t claim Khelif is trans. My objection, and that of many others, is to male violence against women becoming an Olympic sport.”
Musk shared a post from the former US college swimmer and women’s sport activist Riley Gaines, proclaiming “men don’t belong in women’s sports”. The entrepreneur said he “absolutely” agreed.
Trump also shared an image of Khelif’s fight against Carini with the caption: “I will keep men out of women’s sports”.
Algerians vigorously defended Khelif against what they cast as uninformed speculation, which they interpreted as a byproduct of racism.
They loudly made their presence known both in Paris and Algeria, where the gold medal fight was broadcast in public squares throughout the country.
Khelif was due to compete in last year’s world championships final only to be disqualified from the competition when the International Boxing Association (IBA) announced she had failed a sex test.
If the IBA tests are taken at face value, XY chromosomes are present in Khelif’s DNA.
Individuals born with XY chromosomes are biologically male. However, being born under DSD conditions can influence sex development, including hormones and reproductive organs.
The International Olympic Committee has acknowledged it was warned in writing more than a year ago that Khelif had the DNA of a “male” but has disputed the validity of the IBA’s tests.
The IBA has since been stripped of its rights to govern Olympic boxing.
The Telegraph, London
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