After facing intense scrutiny and speculation about her gender during the 2024 Paris Olympics, gold medalist Imane Khelif has filed a criminal complaint over online harassment in Paris — and according to a new report, it includes mentions of JK Rowling and Elon Musk.
The Algerian boxer, 25, filed a complaint against unknown/unnamed individuals for alleged “acts of severe online harassment” and mentions both public figures — who are known for their anti-transgender views and have made posts claiming Khelif is male — within the complaint, the athlete’s lawyer Nabil Boudi confirmed Diversity. Boudi also confirmed the content of the complaint to The Associated Press and Reuters.
“JK Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others,” Boudi said Diversityand the newspaper added “that Donald Trump would be part of the investigation.”
The complaint was sent to the anti-hate center of the Paris prosecutor’s office on Friday, August 9, the same day that Khelif took home the gold medal in the women’s 66-kilogram boxing category.
Imana Khelif’s father says it’s an ‘honour to have such a daughter’ amid Olympic controversy
Imane Khelif at the 2024 Paris Olympics on August 9.
MOHD RASFAN/AFP via Getty
In a statement, the office confirmed for Diversity that it received the report and launched an investigation “on the counts of cyber harassment due to gender, public insult due to gender, public incitement to discrimination and public insult due to origin”.
Boudi called the complaint a “new fight” for the boxer in a press release posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, August 10.
“After sports matches, judgment time comes. Having just won a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, boxer Imane Khelif has decided to fight a new fight: one of justice, dignity and honor,” the statement, translated from French, reads.
“Mrs. “Khelif contacted the company, which yesterday filed a complaint for acts of serious cyber harassment with the Paris prosecutor’s office to combat online hatred,” the statement continued. “The criminal investigation will determine who launched this misogynistic, racist and sexist campaign, but will also have to focus on those who instigated this digital lynching.”
“The unfair treatment of the boxing champion will remain the biggest stain on these Olympic Games,” the statement concluded.
Boxer Angela Carini ‘feels sorry’ for Imana Khelif after Olympic bout sparks gender controversy
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From left: Imane Khelif and Angela Carini at the 2024 Olympics on August 1.
Fabio Bozzani/Anadolu via Getty
Khelifa’s gender became the subject of speculation and hateful rhetoric after her Olympic bout against Angela Carini on Thursday, August 1, when the Italian boxer pulled out of the bout, citing a severe nose injury.
Critics of Khelif – who was assigned female at birth and does not identify as transgender or intersex – argued she should not be allowed to compete in the Olympics after she was disqualified from the 2023 World Boxing Championships for failing an unspecified test gender eligibility by the International Boxing Association (IBA), according to the AP.
Both Rowling, 59, and Musk, 53, were among the big names who slammed the Olympics for allowing her to compete.
The Harry Potter the author shared several posts about the Algerian boxer, including one in which she accused her of being a man who “enjoys the plight of a woman he just punched in the head.” Meanwhile, Musk reposted a statement from swimmer Riley Gaines saying, “Men have no place in women’s sports,” and wrote, “Absolutely.”
PEOPLE has reached out to representatives for Musk, Rowling and Trump, 78, for comment.
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In addition to complaining about online abuse, Khelif also reacted to the controversy that plagued her Olympic experience in an interview with AP partner SNTV.
“I am sending a message to all the people of the world to respect the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has consequences, huge effects,” Khelif told SNTV in Arabic. “It can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind. It can divide people.”
“That’s why I ask them to refrain from bullying,” she added.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education