Imane Khelif has named JK Rowling and Elon Musk in a lawsuit after winning an Olympic gold medal. Khelif won the prestigious accolade in the women’s welterweight tournament in Paris last Friday (9 August), making her Algeria’s first woman to ever win a gold medal in boxing at the Olympics.
However, her incredible achievements were unfortunately overshadowed by a heated controversy regarding her gender. Despite being born female and not identifying as transgender or intersex, Khelif faced a barrage of baseless accusations and online abuse.
The 25-year-old athlete has garnered support from the International Olympic Committee, which asserted, ‘scientifically, this is not a man fighting a woman’.
Khelif’s Paris-based attorney, Nabil Boudi, confirmed to Variety that both Rowling and Musk are named in the complaint filed to French authorities over alleged ‘acts of aggravated cyber harassment’.
On Tuesday (13 August), Boudi revealed: ‘JK Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others.’
He also mentioned that former US President Donald Trump would be part of the investigation. Trump had made a statement on his social media platform Truth Social, declaring: ‘I will keep men out of women’s sports.’
Boudi explained that while the complaint includes specific names, the overall request is for a broader investigation. ‘If the case goes to court, they will stand trial,’ he added.
Rowling referred to Khelif as a ‘male’ on social media, accusing her of causing distress to a woman she had beaten. Musk shared a post from Riley Gaines, an American swimmer, claiming, ‘Men don’t belong in women’s sports,’ to which he added, ‘Absolutely.’
Khelif’s coach, Pedro Diaz, expressed how the bullying deeply affected her and everyone around her. ‘The first time she fought in the Olympics, there was this crazy storm outside of the ring. I had never seen anything so disgusting in my life,’ Diaz said.
He advised Khelif to avoid social media to stay focused on winning the gold medal. ‘She’s so smart and has such amazing motivation,’ the coach praised, adding that her win ‘felt like the most rewarding victory of my career as a coach.’
