A male boxer who won a gold medal in the women’s event at the 2024 Paris Olympics has filed a lawsuit for alleged “online hate” from people angry about his “victory.”
Social media has been flooded with outrage from users blasting Algeria’s Imane Khelif for his brutal “wins” while fighting female boxers.
After winning the women’s gold medal over the weekend, Khelif has now launched a legal effort targetting his critics.
Among those named in Khelif’s lawsuit are X boss Elon Musk and “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling.
The male boxer confirmed through his lawyers that he had contacted France’s anti-online hatred center at the Parisian public prosecutor’s office.
In a statement, Khelif’s French lawyer, Nabil Boudi, said:
“JK Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others.”
He continued by suggesting that President Donald Trump could be Khelif’s next target.
Boudi falsely claimed that “Trump tweeted” about Khelif.
However, Trump’s X account has made no mention of Khelif or any other Olympic athletes.
“[Donald] Trump tweeted, so whether or not he is named in our lawsuit, he will inevitably be looked into as part of the prosecution,” Boudi warned.
Khelif became a national hero in Algeria when he won the women’s welterweight gold medal against Yang Liu of China on Friday.
He “won” the gold after brutalizing several real women fighters in the ring.
Khelif had been disqualified from last year’s world championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) and a DNA test proved he is male.
The IBA ran Olympic boxing until 2019.
The tests proved he has XY chromosomes, meaning he is male – a biological fact that cannot be altered.
However, Khelif was cleared to fight against women in the Olympics because his passport lists his gender as “female.”
The boxer, 25, said the “media frenzy” that followed “harms human dignity.”
After winning gold, Khelif falsely claimed that he is a “woman and I am very proud”.
His legal action says most of the alleged “cyberbullying” was posted on X.
The lawsuit argues that criticism of Khelif was amplified by the platform’s biggest users.
Rowling posted a picture from Khelif’s fight against the Italian boxer Angela Carini to her 14 million followers.
As THAIMBC News reported, Carini was forced to abandon the match after just 46 seconds.
She said she couldn’t continue after sustaining several shocking blows to the head from Khelif.
accusing her of being a man who was “enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head”.
Musk shared a post from real female swimmer Riley Gaines that stated: “Men don’t belong in women’s sports.”
In a post on Truth Social, Trump shared a picture from the fight with Carini accompanied by the message: “I will keep men out of women’s sports!”
Boudi said that although the complaint mentions names:
“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.”
