Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer and Olympic gold medalist whose sex has been widely questioned on social media, has filed a lawsuit naming several prominent figures, including Elon Musk and J.K. Rowling.
The lawsuit, which was filed Friday in Paris, alleges that Khelif was subjected to “acts of aggravated cyber harassment.”
Khelif claims to have been born and raised female, and the International Olympic Committee has asserted, “Scientifically, this is not a man fighting a woman,” — but many believe that the athlete is transgender or intersex.
In a statement sent to Variety, the Paris Prosecutor’s Office (National Center for the Fight Against Online Hatred), confirmed the complaint was filed and that an investigation has been launched into the case.
“On Aug. 13, (The National Center for the Fight Against Online Hatred) contacted the OCLCH (Central Office for the Fight Against Crimes Against Humanity and Hate Crimes) to conduct an investigation into the counts of cyber harassment due to gender, public insult because of gender, public incitement to discrimination and public insult because of origin.”
The Variety report explains that the lawsuit was filed against X. Under the French law, this means that the complaint includes unknown persons and “ensure[s] that the ‘prosecution has all the latitude to be able to investigate against all people,” including anonymous users.
The boxer's legal team is also considering dragging former President Donald Trump into the complaint.
Nabil Boudi, Khelif's Paris-based attorney, told the magazine, “Trump tweeted, so whether or not he is named in our lawsuit, he will inevitably be looked into as part of the prosecution.”
Variety reports:Most of the attacks came via social media, particularly on X/Twitter, and the controversy was escalated when high-profile figures stepped into the fray. In one message to her 14.2 million followers, Rowling posted a picture from Khelif’s fight with Italian boxer Angela Carini, accusing the former of being a man who was “enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head.” Musk, meanwhile, shared a post from swimmer Riley Gaines that claimed “men don’t belong in women’s sports.” The X owner co-signed the message by writing: “Absolutely.” Trump posted a message with a picture from the fight with Carina accompanied by the message: “I will keep men out of women’s sports!”
Khelif told the Associated Press earlier this month that the “hate” surrounding questions of their sex “harms human dignity.”
“I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has effects, massive effects,” Khelif told the AP in Arabic. “It can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind. It can divide people. And because of that, I ask them to refrain from bullying.”
