Billionaire and X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk and author JK Rowling have been named in a criminal complaint by Paris Olympics boxing gold medallist Imane Khelif, who is at the centre of a gender eligibility row.
A storm erupted at the Paris Olympics 2024 over the participation of Khelif after her Italian opponent, Angela Carini. pulled out of their bout less than a minute into the fight after taking a barrage of punches. Carini was seen sobbing and also refused to shake hands with Khelif.
Khelif, who was disqualified from last year's world championships after failing gender eligibility testing, was then trolled online.
The legal complaint against Musk and Rowling has been filed for online harassment, the American magazine Variety reported on Tuesday.
"JK Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others," Nabil Boudi, the Paris-based attorney of Khelif, told Variety.
He also said that former US president Donald Trump would 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," Boudi said.
What Elon Musk, JK Rowling, Donald Trump Said
Elon Musk had retweeted an X post by American swimmer Riley Gaines who wrote, "Men don't belong in women's sports #IStandWithAngelaCarini."
"Absolutely," he wrote in a retweet of Gaines' initial message.
Absolutely https://t.co/twccUEOW9e
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 1, 2024
Harry Potter creator JK Rowling had referred to the Algerian boxer as a man.
"Watch this (whole thread), then explain why you're OK with a man beating a woman in public for your entertainment. This isn't sport. From the bullying cheat in red all the way up to the organisers who allowed this to happen, this is men revelling in their power over women," she posted on X after the Carini-Khelif fight.
In another post, Rowling shared a photograph of Carini crying and Khelif looking at her.
"Could any picture sum up our new men's rights movement better? The smirk of a male who 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," she 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. #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/Q5SbKiksXQ
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 1, 2024
Khelif had also drawn fire from Donald Trump, who said he will "keep men out of women's sports".
"Imane Khelif Has Decided To Begin New Fight"
Imane Khelif's lawyer had on Saturday confirmed that she has filed a legal complaint in France for online harassment.
"The boxer Imane Khelif has decided to begin a new fight, a fight for justice, dignity and honour," Boudi said in a statement, saying Khelif had filed the complaint for "aggravated online harassment... to Paris prosecutors".
"The investigation will determine who was behind this misogynist, racist and sexist campaign, but will also have to concern itself with those who fed the online lynching," he added.
The "iniquitous harassment" the boxing champion had been subjected to would remain "the biggest stain on these Olympic Games", Boudi said.
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