OAN Staff Abril Elfi
9:38 AM – Saturday, August 17, 2024
J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk have been named in a lawsuit filed by controversial Olympic boxer Imane Khelif.
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Khelif’s lawyer, Nabil Boudi, announced on Wednesday that they had sent a criminal complaint to the Paris public prosecutor’s office on August 9th regarding alleged “acts of cyber-harassment.”
According to Variety, the lawsuit was brought against X. Under French law, it means it was filed against unknown persons.
The lawsuit states that, “misogynistic, racist, and sexist” cyberbullies targeted the 25-year-old.
“That ensures that the prosecution has all the latitude to be able to investigate all people, including those who may have written hateful messages under pseudonyms,” Boudi said.
The lawyer added that the complaint mentioned other famous figures too.
“JK Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others,” he said, adding that Donald Trump could also 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,” he continued.
During her Olympic career, Khelif became Algeria’s first female gold medalist in boxing and its first boxer to win an Olympic gold medal overall since 1996.
When it was revealed that Khelif had failed the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) gender eligibility test, she was disqualified from competing in the 2023 Boxing World Championships, raising questions about her gender.
However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has disputed this test, and before the Paris events, it stripped the IBA of recognition as boxing’s governing body and expelled it from the Olympics over issues including corruption, financial transparency, and governance.
Khelif was born a female and has never claimed to be intersex or transgender. “Scientifically, this is not a man fighting a woman,” the IOC declared, indicating her gender.
After Italian boxer Angela Carini pulled out of her 66 kg boxing competition match against Khelif after just 46 seconds, saying, “I have never felt a punch like this,” the issue gained national attention.
Rowling posted on X after the fight, calling the boxer a “male who knows he’s protected.”
“The smirk of a male who 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,” she stated.
In another post, the author said, “I don’t claim Khelif is trans. My objection, and that of many others, is to male violence against women becoming an Olympic sport.”
Additionally, Musk shared a post from the U.S. swimmer Riley Gaines that said “men don’t belong in women’s sports” and added, “Absolutely.”
Meanwhile, Trump posted a picture from the fight accompanied by the message: “I will keep men out of women’s sports!”
Boudi told Variety that although the complaint mentioned names, “what we’re asking is that the prosecution investigates not only these people but whoever it feels necessary.”
“If the case goes to court, they will stand trial,” he added.
The lawyer said that while the lawsuit was filed in France, “it could target personalities overseas.”
Khelif’s coach, Pedro Diaz, said the bullying the boxer endured during the Olympics “incredibly affected her” and “everyone around her.”
“The first time she fought in the Olympics, there was this crazy storm outside of the ring,” said Diaz, who has helped train 21 Olympic champions prior to Khelif. “I had never seen anything so disgusting in my life.”
Khelif also released her own statement following the fight that sparked the outrage.
“I am fully qualified to take part in this competition. I’m a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman, I have lived as a woman, I competed as a woman, there’s no doubt about that. [The detractors] are enemies of success, that is what I call them. And that also gives my success a special taste because of these attacks,” she said.
If Khelif wins the case, Rowling, Musk, and others named in the suit could face maximum of five-year behind bars and fines of up to £214,000 (approximately $236,074).
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