Algerian boxer Imane Khelif names Elon Musk, JK Rowling in bullying lawsuit in gender row

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has included Elon Musk and JK Rowling in a cyberbullying lawsuit she filed concerning a gender controversy that gained significant media attention during the Paris Olympics 2024, a report by Variety stated.

Additionally, the report also mentioned that Donald Trump would 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, Khelif’s Paris-based attorney, Nabil Boudi, told Variety.

The 25-year-old became a victim of online harassment after her first fight against Italian boxer Angela Carini. The bout concluded within 46 seconds and the European athlete remarked that she "never felt a punch like this." 

After securing gold in the women's 66 kg final boxing, the boxer the boxer addressed the controversy surrounding her gender and told news agency AP, "I am a woman like any woman. I was born a woman, and I have lived as a woman, but there are enemies to success, and they can't digest my success.”

What did JK Rowling, Elon Musk say about Khelif?

Taking to X, bestselling author JK Rowling wrote, “Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? 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.”

Meanwhile Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk retweeted an X post by American swimmer Riley Gaines that insisted that ‘men did not belong in women's sports’.

Apart from them, many on social media including Former US President Donald Trump, his Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance, Italy Prime Minister Georgia Meloni questioned the International Olympic Committee's decision on allowing Khelif to compete. Notably, Khelif was banned from 2023 world championships after failing the eligibility tests set by the now banned International Boxing Association.

“Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination… All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU),” IOC noted in its statement.