Imane Khelif: Olympic champion names Elon Musk and JK Rowling in cyberbullying lawsuit

Algerian won a gold medal in women's boxing in Paris against the backdrop of a torrent of abuse over her gender

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif shows off her Olympic gold medal upon her arrival at the airport in Algiers, Algeria August 12, 2024. Reuters

Olympic champion Imane Khelif has named JK Rowling and Elon Musk in a criminal complaint filed to French authorities over alleged “acts of aggravated cyber harassment", according to a report.

Variety magazine on Tuesday reported that the author and tech billionaire were mentioned in the body of the complaint, posted to the anti-online hatred centre of the Paris public prosecutor’s office last Friday.

The lawsuit was filed against social media platform X, owned by Musk, which under French law means that it was filed against unknown persons. That “ensure[s] that the prosecution has all the latitude to be able to investigate against all people”, including those who may have written hateful messages under pseudonyms, the magazine reported, quoting Nabil Boudi, the Paris-based lawyer for Khelif.

“JK Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others,” Boudi told Variety, adding that former US President 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, 25, returned to a rapturous welcome in Algiers on Monday after winning a gold medal in the women's -66kg division at the Paris Olympics. She claimed the title with a 5-0 unanimous decision over China's Yang Liu at a sold-out Roland Garros, where she was cheered wildly by supporters.

The boxer was at the centre of a controversy throughout the Games over misconceptions about her gender.

Khelif was born a female and had the backing of the International Olympic Committee throughout the Games in Paris. The IOC asserted, in unequivocal terms, “scientifically, this is not a man fighting a woman”.

Despite that, Khelif faced a torrent of accusations and abuse over her gender, with most of the attacks coming on Musk's social media platform X.

In one message to her 14.2 million followers, Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, posted a picture from Khelif’s first fight with Italian boxer Angela Carini – who quit the bout after 46 seconds – accusing the former of being a man who was “enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head”.

Musk, meanwhile, shared a post from swimmer Riley Gaines that claimed “men don’t belong in women’s sports”. The X owner quoted 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!”

“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,” said Boudi.

The lawsuit could also target "personalities overseas”, Boudi claimed, adding that there were agreements with the US equivalent of the French office for combating online hate speech.

Khelif’s coach, Pedro Diaz, told Variety that the bullying his fighter endured during her run in the Olympics “incredibly affected her” and that he asked her to stay off of social media to maintain focus.

“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.” Diaz said.

He added that Khelif's gold medal “felt like the most rewarding victory of my career as a coach”.