Algerian boxer Imane Khelif was the subject of controversy and online harassment at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, as some alleged the gold medal winner was a transgender woman competing against female boxers. Now, Khelif has filed a complaint in France over the cyberbullying, and J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the suit.
At this writing, it’s too soon to tell what the legal ramifications of Khelif’s lawsuit could be, but if Khelif wins, Rowling and Musk could be fined up to £214,000, or about $275,000 and spend up to five years in prison, under French law, according to the Daily Mail. Rowling shared a picture of Khelif and Carini in the ring on her X account, with a caption suggesting Khelif was a man: “‘enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head.” Musk, meanwhile, reshared an X post from former Olympic swimmer Riley Gaines stating “Men don’t belong in women’s sports,” which Musk captioned “absolutely.”
It’s unclear if Khelif’s case will go to trial. After the suit was filed, Maitre Eolas, a prominent French legal scholar wrote on X it’s unlikely Musk and Rowling would be prosecuted because they were outside France when they posted about Khelif on social media, according to the BBC.
Khelif was allegedly born with XY chromosomes
In 2023, Imane Khelif, along with Taiwanese boxer Lin Tu-Ting, failed a gender eligibility test administered by the International Boxing Association (IBA). The IBA reported that it disqualified boxers who were found to have “competitive advantages.” The organization says it did not conduct a testosterone examination, but instead “a separate and recognized test, whereby the specifics remain confidential.” Russian news agency TASS was one of the first outlets to report that Khelif has XY chromosomes, citing the IBA’s president, Umar Kremlev, as a direct source. From there, it spread like wildfire across the internet.
Many have drawn up the conclusion that Khelif has a condition classified as DSD or Differences in Sex Development, but that too is unsubstantiated. Having DSD does not by itself translate to someone being transgender, and Khelif has never identified as such. Besides these rumored genetic differences, Khelif, 25, has lived her whole life as a woman, with her passport and other official documentation reflecting as much.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) took Olympic boxing governance over from the IBA in 2023 after years of bad management, and Khelif and Lin were allowed to fight in Paris. At the same time, many celebrities, including Musk, Rowling, and other female Olympic boxers, spoke out against Khelif and Lin’s inclusion in the games.
According to Khelif’s lawsuit filed with the National Center for the Fight Against Online Hatred in France, the spotlight on the Khelif and Lin situation from celebrities on social media led to online harassment and cyberbullying, especially after Italian boxer Angela Carini quit her match against Khelif after just 46 seconds, claiming she never felt a punch harder than what Khelif threw.
Other public figures involved in the case
In addition to Elon Musk and J.K. Rowling, other public figures who weighed in on the matter on social media, such as Donald Trump, could be investigated. Trump wrote on social media he would “keep men out of women’s sports,” referring to the Khelif-Lin controversy. YouTuber turned boxer Logan Paul also criticized Khelif online but later retracted his comments stating he had possibly spread “misinformation” about Khelif’s gender. Musk’s social media company X was also named in the suit, which means under French law anyone who posted on the matter, even using a pseudonym, could be investigated. It was widely reported that Rowling and Musk had not yet commented on Khelif’s complaint.