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The Algerian athlete, who took home a gold medal during the 2024 games, filed a cyberbullying lawsuit after being wrongly accused of misrepresenting her gender at the Paris Olympics.
Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif has filed a cyberbullying lawsuit against Elon Musk, J.K. Rowling and others, after she was wrongly accused of misrepresenting her gender at the Paris Olympics.
The Algerian boxer was the subject of endless abuse at the 2024 games after she was accused of being a man by several public figures.
Khelif mentioned multiple celebrities in her lawsuit in addition to the Harry Potter author and X (formerly Twitter) owner, each of whom wrote negative comments about the boxer.
Spreading Misinformation
Most of the attacks came via social media, particularly on X, and 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."
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View StoryMusk, meanwhile, 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 Carini accompanied by the message: "I will keep men out of women's sports!"
Logan Paul also got in on the conversation, posting on X following Khelif's win against Carini, "This is the purest form of evil unfolding right before our eyes. A man was allowed to beat up a woman on a global stage, crushing her life’s dream while fighting for her deceased father. This delusion must end."
Paul later deleted the post and admitted that he "might be guilty of spreading misinformation."
Legal Action
The lawsuit was filed in France Tuesday, and was filed against "X," meaning the lawsuit is naming "unknown persons," according to Variety.
In a statement sent to the outlet, the Paris Prosecutor's Office (National Center for the Fight Against Online Hatred), confirmed it received the complaint filed by Khelif and announced that an investigation had been launched.
"On Aug. 13, (The National Center for the Fight Against Online Hatred) contacted the OCLCH (Central Office for the Fight Against Crimes Against Humanity and Hate Crimes) to conduct an investigation into the counts of cyber harassment due to gender, public insult because of gender, public incitement to discrimination and public insult because of origin."
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View StoryKhelif's attorney, Nabil Boudi, says that this strategy "ensure[s] that the prosecution has all the latitude to be able to investigate against all people," including people who wrote anonymous hateful messages or messages using a different name.
The lawyer said, "J. K. Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others. Trump tweeted, so whether or not he is named in our lawsuit, he will inevitably be looked into as part of the prosecution."
"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.
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View StoryAs for their overall hopes for this case, Boudi said that while online apologies like the one Khelif got from Paul are welcomed, the complaint is aimed at the authors of social media posts and not the platforms themselves.
"It's the responsibility of lawmakers to issue sanctions to platforms, not ours," he said. But he did note that cyber harassment cases were now being taken much more seriously by judicial authorities and that, in some cases, "there are prison sentences."
Enduring Attacks
Khelif won the gold medal last week following weeks of controversy -- and it was an emotional win for the boxer, who broke down in tears after clinching gold.
Khelif's coach, Pedro Diaz, also spoke with Variety, telling the outlet that the bullying Khelif endured during her run in 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 runs Miami-based Mundo Boxing Gym and started training with Khelif in February 2023. "I had never seen anything so disgusting in my life.
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View StoryDiaz said he asked Khelif to refrain from looking at social media so she "wouldn't lose her focus on winning the gold medal."
"She's so smart and has such an amazing motivation," he said, adding that her gold medal win "felt like the most rewarding victory of my career as a coach."
In an interview following her win, Khelif spoke about the commentary surrounding her throughout the Olympic games and the way it impacted her.
"I'm not lying to you, it affected me. It affected me a lot. It hurt me a lot," Khelif told Algerian outlet, El Bilad. I can't describe to you the amount of fear I had."
She continued, "Why was there an uproar from big politicians around the world? I was afraid, but thank God I was able to overcome this stage. Thanks to the specialist who helped me overcome this stage."
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View StoryLuckily, Khelif said, she was able to get through the difficult time with the help of her team and still, not only compete, but win for herself and for her country.
"Thank God, all the people of Algeria and all the Arab world knew Iman Khelif with her femininity, her courage, her will," Khelif expressed.
As for what she expects from Musk and Trump and those who bashed her, Khelif said they not only did not have the right to mislabel her gender, they cast shame on her and the women of Algeria, and women across the Arab world.
"I sent him a message that I'm a woman, and that I will always be a woman," she maintained.