Algerian gold medal boxer Imane Khelif has filed a criminal complaint in France over online harassment that targets celebrities including Elon Musk and author J.K. Rowling.
The news was first reported by Variety.
Khelif’s gender was falsely called into question during the Olympic Games; the boxer was assigned female at birth and has always identified as a woman. The widely discredited International Boxing Association said she and another boxer failed gender tests last year, but would not specify what those tests were. The International Olympic Committee no longer recognizes the IBA after years of criticism for its financial ties to Russia’s state energy firm Gazprom, its senior leadership, and the integrity of competitions in Rio in 2016.
That didn’t stop a barrage of bigotry against Khelif, particularly on the Musk-owned X. She was attacked by public figures including Musk, Rowling, and former president Donald Trump, and Logan Paul, and news outlets, including The Boston Globe and Fox News, reported that Khelif was transgender. (Paul and the Globe both acknowledged their errors: The social media star deleted his post and said he “might be guilty of spreading misinformation” while the news outlet put out an apology and correction.) Rowling posted a picture of Khelif fighting that challenged her gender identity and said the boxer was “enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head.” Musk shared a post by U.S. swimmer Riley Gaines saying “men don’t belong in women’s sports,” and added “Absolutely.”
Khelif filed the complaint to France’s National Center for the Fight Against Online Hatred, which announced an investigation into the case. The lawsuit names the social media platform X (which doesn’t target any individual person under French law), Musk, Rowling, and others. Khelif’s attorney said Trump “will inevitably be looked into as part of the prosecution.”
“What we’re asking is that the prosecution investigates not only these people but whoever it feels necessary. If the case goes to court, they will stand trial,” attorney Nabil Boudi told Variety.
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