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Imane Khelif's Cyberbullying Lawsuit, Which Names Elon Musk And J.K. Rowling, Explained
Just 46 seconds of a non-medal women's Olympic boxing match led to a series of events that has now resulted in Elon Musk, J.K. Rowling and several other notable individuals becoming potentially liable for criminal cyberbullying in French court.
In case you're unaware of the controversy from earlier this month, which quickly became one of the biggest of the 2024 Summer Paris Olympics, here's what's going on with Imane Khelif's legal action.
What Is The Imane Khelif Controversy?
On August 1st, Algerian Imane Khelif defeated Italian boxer Angela Carini in the quarterfinal match in the women's boxing tournament at the Paris Olympics.
The match lasted a mere 46 seconds when Carini retired after taking a punch to the head. The entire controversy comes from Carini saying after the match, "I have never been hit so hard in my life. It’s up to the IOC to judge."
She seemed to imply the IOC (International Olympics Committee) had to judge Khelif's eligibility because, in 2023, Khelif was disqualified from the 2023 World Championships after the International Boxing Association (IBA) claimed she failed to meet eligibility criteria.
However, what criteria she failed to qualify for was never made public, leading to speculation that it was due to Khelif having elevated levels of testosterone — though the entire incident is suspect for reasons we'll get into later.
The IOC had already ruled that Khelif was eligible to compete in the Olympics and stuck by her side throughout the tournament. Khelif ended up winning gold at the 2024 Olympics.
Despite the IOC's defense of Khelif, Carini's comment (and many so-called "transvesigators") inspired a wave of intense misinformation and trans panic among many prominent TERFs and conservatives online.
Due to the rumors that Khelif had elevated levels of testosterone, multiple high-profile accounts online, including Elon Musk, Donald Trump, J.K. Rowling and Logan Paul, posted aghast commentary about the match, insinuating that Khelif was a transgender woman and a "biological male" and that the match was a farce.
These posts racked up hundreds of millions of views, and while some, such as Logan Paul's, were redacted as more facts came to light, the idea that Khelif was "a man in a woman's boxing tournament" spread widely throughout social media, opening Khelif up to harassment.
Why Are There Questions Surrounding Khelif's Gender?
Imane Khelif's disqualification from the 2023 World Boxing Championships is the main reason people are suspicious of her biology, but that entire incident is suspicious itself.
The Washington Post published a thorough breakdown of the incident, but the short version is that the IBA, owned by Russian Umar Kremlev, never revealed the tests Khelif took that resulted in her disqualification. Kremlev said it was "proven Khelif had XY chromosomes," though no testing organization has said that.
It is implied in the breakdown that Khelif's defeat of an undefeated Russian boxer at the tournament may have influenced the decision to disqualify her under false pretenses.
About the controversy, the IOC stated, "The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure — especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years. Such an approach is contrary to good governance."
Imane Khelif is a biological woman who does not identify as trans or intersex, and no evidence has come out suggesting she has XY chromosomes or elevated testosterone levels at this time.
What Is Going On With Imane Khelif's Legal Complaint?
On August 12th, Variety reported that Khelif had filed a legal complaint for the cyberbullying she received in the wake of the controversy. The complaint names Rowling and Musk for their role in allegedly spreading misinformation regarding Khelif's gender. It was filed in Paris on August 10th.
However, the complaint does not mean charges have been filed against Musk and Rowling — at least not yet. Investigators are looking into charges including gender-based cyber harassment and public insult, which are crimes in France.
A recent cyberbullying case in France brought forth by French influencer Magali Berdah found its perpetrators guilty and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
This case, should it go to trial, is certainly of a grander scale than previous cyberbullying cases tried in France, and it's still unknown whether Rowling and Musk would be formally charged.
Recently, Twitter / X users noticed Rowling had not tweeted in the weeks since news of the lawsuit came to light, which some celebrated as a sign she was scared of the case. However, she resumed tweeting several days ago, pushing more controversial rhetoric against Khelif.
For the full history of the Imane Khelif Cyberbullying Lawsuit, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
