A recent criminal complaint filed in France accuses several high-profile individuals, including author J.K. Rowling and tech magnate Elon Musk, of "aggravated cyber harassment" against Imane Khelif, the Algerian Olympic gold medalist boxer whose gender identity was called into question during this year's Paris Games.
Khelif’s lawyer, Nabil Boudi, confirmed to Variety on Tuesday that both Rowling and Musk are mentioned in the complaint, which was submitted in Paris on Friday. Although the lawsuit does not list specific defendants, Boudi explained that this approach allows prosecutors the flexibility to investigate anyone, including those who may have posted abusive messages under anonymous accounts.
Former President Donald Trump will also be scrutinized as part of the investigation. Boudi noted that Trump's tweets on the matter will inevitably bring him under the purview of the investigation, regardless of whether he is directly named in the lawsuit. Boudi did not provide comments to The Hill.
Earlier this month, Khelif’s gender identity became the center of controversy, driven by conservative commentators, media figures, and politicians, following reports that both Khelif and another Olympic boxer, Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan, did not meet a gender eligibility requirement at the previous year's Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi. These tests were conducted by the International Boxing Association (IBA), an organization that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to expel last year due to its failure to implement necessary ethical and governance reforms.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has questioned the legitimacy of the gender tests administered to 25-year-old Imane Khelif and 28-year-old Lin Yu-ting, neither of whom identify as transgender. Both athletes participated in the women’s category during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics without significant controversy.
After Khelif’s recent Olympic match against Italy’s Angela Carini—where Carini forfeited after just 46 seconds due to severe nose pain—misinformation about Khelif’s gender rapidly spread on social media. Author J.K. Rowling added fuel to the fire by posting a photo of the match on the social platform X, accusing Khelif of "enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head." Elon Musk, the owner of X, amplified the false narrative by sharing a post from Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer known for her opposition to transgender athletes, falsely asserting that Khelif is a transgender woman.
Former President Donald Trump also capitalized on the controversy. On August 1, he posted a video of the fight on his social media site, Truth Social, using it to reinforce his campaign promise to "keep men out of women’s sports" if re-elected in November. At a rally in Bozeman, Montana, Trump repeated the baseless claim that Khelif is transgender, inaccurately describing her as a “young woman who transitioned from a man into a boxer.”
In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Khelif expressed deep concern over the wave of hateful comments and misconceptions about her gender, stating that it “harms human dignity.” She urged people worldwide to uphold the principles of the Olympic Charter and to refrain from bullying athletes, emphasizing that such behavior can have devastating consequences, including damaging mental health and dividing communities.
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