Imane Khelif’s cyberbullying lawsuit officially names JK Rowling and Elon Musk for their alleged “acts of aggravated cyber harassment” against her.
The Algerian Boxer earned an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing while enduring a barrage of online abuse, which began on August 1 when Italian boxer Angela Carini withdrew from a match after just 46 seconds, sharing, “I have never been hit so hard in my life.”
Even though Khelif was assigned female at birth and does not identify as transgender or intersex, she faced endless false accusations about her gender.
JK Rowling posted an image from Khelif’s fight to her 14 million followers where she accused her of being a man by saying, “The smirk of a male who’s knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered.”
Musk shared a post claiming that “men don’t belong in women’s sports.” Donald Trump also posted a photo from the fight accompanied by the message: “I will keep men out of women’s sports!”
The International Olympic Committee defended the Algerian boxer by asserting that “scientifically, this is not a man fighting a woman”, but high-profile social media users continued to question her participation in the competition.
Following her victory, Khelif hired attorney Nabil Boudi to file a complaint with the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office for alleged “aggravated cyber harassment” and Boudi confirmed to Variety that both people were named in the complaint to French authorities.
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The ongoing criminal investigation will determine who initiated and fueled the hateful campaign against the Olympic champion, and Khelif’s lawyer explained that filing the lawsuit against X ensures that all X users who wrote hateful messages can be investigated. While the complaint is filed against X, the lawsuit aims to hold the authors of social media posts accountable rather than the platform.
This accountability has been well-received by LGBTQ+ activists who have noted that the Harry Potter author has a history of threatening legal action against fans who have spoken up about her transphobic statements. While she’s usually very vocal on X, JK Rowling has been silent on the platform for several days.
While the lawsuit directly names some high-profile figures like JK Rowling and Elon Musk, Boudi said that Donald Trump “will inevitably be looked into as part of the prosecution” since he tweeted as well.
Khelif’s coach, Pedro Diaz, said the cyberbullying deeply affected Khelif and everyone around her. A statement announcing the legal action read: “Having just won a gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, boxer Imane Khelif has decided to lead a new fight: that of justice, dignity, and honor.”
In addition to facing legal action from Khelif’s team, Elon Musk’s transgender daughter Vivian Wilson is criticising his biography for being “genuinely defamatory” in the way it describes her identity and experiences.
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