JK Rowling and Elon Musk have been named in a cyberbullying lawsuit filed by Algerian boxer Imane Khelif.
The boxer, who won gold at the Olympics amidst a toxic furore about her gender identity, has filed a criminal complaint to French authorities over “acts of aggravated cyber harassment.”
The lawsuit was filed against X, which in French law means it was filed against unknown persons. Khelif’s attorney Nabil Boudi told Variety that this will give the prosecution “all the latitude to be able to investigate against all people”, including those who may have written abusive messages under pseudonyms online.
The lawyer confirmed to Variety though that the complaint does mention well-known figures, including JK Rowling and Elon Musk.
He added that Donald Trump would also be “looked into as part of the prosecution.”
The complaint was posted to the anti-online hatred centre of the Paris public prosecutor’s office on Friday.
Khelif won gold at Paris 2024 in the women’s 66kg boxing competition. However, she found herself at the centre of controversy after doubts were raised about her gender identity.
The Algerian – who was born female, is not transgender and has competed as a woman for her entire career – was eligible to compete at the Olympics under the International Olympic Committee’s eligibility criteria. The IOC publicly backed Khelif, reasserting that she was fine to compete at the games and that “scientifically, this is not a man fighting a woman.”
However, a toxic debate quickly developed on social media, where Khelif found herself on the receiving end of baseless accusations and abuse over her gender.
The social media abuse was particularly on X, formerly Twitter, where the likes of Rowling and the platform’s CEO Musk shared attacks on Khelif.
Rowling, for example, shared a picture of Khelif fighting Italian boxer Angela Carini, and accused her of being a man who was “enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head.”
Meanwhile, Musk shared a post from swimmer Riley Gaines which stated “men don’t belong in women’s sports.”
Musk wrote “absolutely” in response to Gaines’ post.”
And former US president Trump also shared a picture of the fight between Khelif and Carini, promising to “keep men out of women’s sports!”
Boudi said the prosecution should investigate “not only these people but whoever it feels necessary.”
“If the case goes to court, they will stand trial,” he added.
Although the complaint was filed in France, Boudi said it “could target personalities overseas” and that the prosecutor’s office “has the possibility to make requests for mutual legal assistance with other countries.”
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