JK Rowling, Donald Trump and Elon Musk have been named in a lawsuit filed by boxer Imane Khelif in relation to the comments they made while she competed at the Olympics in Paris.
Khelif, who won the gold medal in her category for the women’s boxing, was at the centre of a storm after false claims were made about her sex.
The Algerian competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with no issue but ahead of Paris 2024 she was banned from some competition by the discredited International Boxing Association.
The Russian-led IBA said Khelif could not compete in the World Championships, claiming she had failed gender eligibility tests – the nature of these tests have not been disclosed, neither have the results.
Under International Olympic Committee (IOC) regulations, she was cleared to compete in the Paris Olympics.
As a result the athlete, and the IOC, faced criticism and false claims were levelled at Khelif about her sex.
Now the athlete’s lawyer Nabil Boudi has filed a legal complaint with a special unit in the Paris prosecutor’s office that combats online hate speech on Friday.
Boudi said the boxer was targeted by a “misogynist, racist and sexist campaign” as she won competed in the women’s welterweight division. Her victory has made her a hero in her native Algeria and brought global attention to women’s boxing.
The lawyer told Variety, the case has been filed against X but individuals like Musk and Rowling are specifically named due to their posts on the platform.
Khelif faced a torrent of abuse during her Olympic run after she beat Italian Angela Carini in under a minute.
Carini said she had “never been hit so hard in my life” after the match which led to several people pointing out Khelif’s IBA ban.
Carini later apologised to Khelif, telling Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport: “I’m sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision.”
The Italian said she felt “sad” about the controversy and respected the IOC’s decision to let her compete in the competition.
False claims that Khelif was transgender spread online. The International Olympic Committee denounced those peddling misinformation, which included figures such as Musk, Rowling and Trump.
An IOC spokesperson said: “This is not a transgender issue”.
He added: “These women have been competing in competitions for many years. The testosterone is not a perfect test. Many women can have elevated levels of testosterone, which is in what would be called ‘male levels’ and still be women and still compete as women.”
Khelif appealed to people to stop targeting her during the Olympics saying she had been greatly affected by misconceptions about her gender.
The IBA has never released the results of the test Khelif failed or even named the exact test she took.
The IBA in recent years has also faced accusations of rank corruption under Russian chairman Umar Kremlev, who has close links to the Kremlin.
Khelif allegedly failed the IBA’s test after she beat the previously undefeated Russian boxer Azalia Amineva during the 2023 IBA Championship.
This was then used to disqualify Khelif from the competition and restored Amineva’s undefeated status.
At the time, Khelif said she had been the victim of a “big conspiracy,” and the IOC said the IBA’s decision was made solely by the IBA’s leadership and chairman, labelling it “sudden and arbitrary” and “without any due process.”
There had been no issues with Khelif entering or competing in the competition until she beat Amineva.
The IOC, USA, UK and several other organisations have disaffiliated with the IBA as a result of the allegations of corruption.
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