Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has filed a complaint in Paris alleging online gender harassment by high-profile figures including X owner Elon Musk and the author of the Harry Potter stories J.K. Rowling, according to Le Monde.
Khelif, who won a gold medal in the women’s 66-kilogram weight boxing class at the Paris Olympics, faced intense social media criticism after her quarter-final opponent, Italian boxer Angela Carini, abandoned their match just 46 seconds into the first round. Carini later commented, “I’ve never felt a punch like this.”
The controversy intensified when prominent figures like Rowling and Musk condemned Khelif’s participation in the Olympics on X, questioning her gender and leading to a barrage of online bullying and false claims about her gender.
Khelif’s lawyer, Nabil Boudi, said that the boxer had been targeted by a “misogynist, racist and sexist campaign” and that some of these posts surpassed 100 million views.
In response, Khelif filed a complaint with the French National Center for Combating Online Hate, a division of Paris’ correctional court.
The Paris public prosecutor’s office informed AFP that a cyberbullying investigation is now being conducted by France’s Central Office for Combating Crimes against Humanity and Hate Crimes.
Previously, the International Boxing Association (IBA) had disqualified Khelif after she failed their gender eligibility test. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) later cleared her to compete in
Paris. IOC President Thomas Bach defended this decision, stating, “This is a question of justice: women must be allowed to take part in women’s competitions. And the two are women.”
Khelif was born in Algeria as female, has lived her life as female, and is shown as “female” on her passport. Changes of gender are illegal in Algeria.