Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer, filed a criminal complaint accusing J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk of “acts of aggravated cyber harassment.”
Variety reports that Khelif, 25, has complained to French authorities about being harassed online during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Rowling and Musk are mentioned in the complaint, according to Nabil Boudi, the Paris-based lawyer for Khelif. The complaint was submitted on Friday, August 9, to the Paris public prosecutor’s office’s anti-online hatred center.
Boudi said, “J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others,” and that the investigation would include Donald Trump. “Trump tweeted, so whether or not he is named in our lawsuit, he will inevitably be looked into as part of the prosecution.”
Anyone who is charged under the statute by the prosecutor’s office faces tens of thousands of euros in fines and two to five years in prison.
Throughout the Olympics, Khelif was the target of a deluge of false information and hate that amounted to nothing more than a witch-hunt.
After Khelif’s bout with Angela Carini of Italy, critics voiced their opinions online, casting doubt on her ability to compete in the Olympic women’s boxing competition.
Many accused Khelif of being a man – regardless of the fact that she was born female, is listed as female in her passport, and has never identified as transgender.
The International Olympic Committee repeatedly asserted her qualifications to compete in the women’s division.
Rowling went on several rants on X and accused Khelif of “enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head.”
Billionaire X owner Musk replied to a post from swimmer Riley Gaines that said “men don’t belong in women’s sports”, writing: “Absolutely.”
Despite the wave of online hate, Khelif won the gold medal in the women’s 66kg final, and declared after her win in the quarterfinals against Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori: “I want to tell the entire world that I am a female, and I will remain a female.”
Boudi explained that the lawsuit was filed against X to “ensure that the prosecution has all the latitude to be able to investigate against all people” and 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.”
While the lawsuit was filed in France, Boudi added that “it could target personalities overseas,” and prosecutors can make requests for assistance from other countries.
Rowling has made repeated transphobic comments online. She has been met with strong backlash in recent years over her claims that trans women “are not women” and her statement that she would rather go to jail than refer to a trans person by their preferred pronouns.
In March, UK broadcaster India Willoughby filed a criminal complaint against the Harry Potter author, citing transphobia. In May, she appeared in the publication “The Women Who Wouldn’t Wheesht”, a collection of more than 30 essays and photographs from women in Scotland who claim to be on “the frontline of the battle for women’s rights”.
In the essay, Rowling hits out at the double standards of friends who have rushed to criticise her views on transgender rights, saying she had been surprised by colleagues who had condemned her views in public, only for them to email her privately to remain friends.
As for Musk, ever since his $44 billion takeover of Twitter early two years ago, false and misleading information – as well as hate speech – have spiked on the digital forum. He has faced wide criticism for firing too many people who policed misinformation when he took over in October 2022, and from civil rights groups for allowing more harmful and abusive posts.
