The gold medalist’s coach said that the controversy “incredibly affected her” and “everyone around her”
BY BETHIA WYBORN, IMAGE VIA INSTAGRAM (@IMANE_KHELIF_10)
The Algerian boxer and newly crowned Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif has filed an online harassment complaint to French authorities over alleged “acts of aggravated cyber harassment”.
Khelif was at the centre of online controversy after a match against Italian boxer Angela Carini. The match, which finished within 46 seconds on 1 August, ignited a frenzy of misinformation and bullying against Khelif on social media and in news outlets, with many falsely claiming that she was a “biological man” and that it was unfair that she was competing.
Nabil Boudi, the Paris-based attorney of Khelif, confirmed to Variety that JK Rowling and Elon Musk were mentioned in the body of the complaint, posted to the anti-online hatred centre of the Paris public prosecutor’s office on Friday.
“JK Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others,” he said, adding that Donald Trump would be part of the investigation. “Trump tweeted, so whether or not he is named in our lawsuit, he will inevitably be looked into as part of the prosecution.”
Khelif was backed by the International Olympic Committee in a press briefing on 8 August after her fight against Carini where they said “scientifically, this is not a man fighting a woman”.
“The Algerian boxer was born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, has a female passport. This is not a transgender case.”
Most of the attacks came via social media, particularly on X, and the controversy 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 also 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’s coach, Pedro Diaz, told Variety that the bullying Khelif endured during her run in the Olympics “incredibly affected her” and “everyone around her.”
“I had never seen anything so disgusting in my life,” said Diaz, who started training with Khelif in February 2023.
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