Imane Khelif names JK Rowling and Elon Musk in harassment lawsuit

Author JK Rowling and billionaire Elon Musk have been mentioned in a criminal complaint filed to French authorities over alleged “acts of aggravated cyber harassment” against Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, Variety reported.

Khelif’s attorney in Paris, Nabil Boudi, told Variety that Rowling and Musk were named in the complaint which was then posted to the anti-online hatred centre of the Paris public prosecutor’s office on Friday.

The lawsuit was filed under X, which according to French laws means it was filed against unknown persons. This “ensure[s] that the ’prosecution has all the latitude to be able to investigate against all people,” including those who may have written hateful messages under fictitious names, said Boudi. The complaint, however, still cites the famously controversial figures.

“JK Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others,” he said, adding that former US president Donald Trump would also be investigated.

“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 that even though the lawsuit 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.”

He added that while the lawsuit was filed in France, “it could target personalities overseas,” highlighting that “the prosecutor’s office for combating online hate speech has the possibility to make requests for mutual legal assistance with other countries.” The lawyer said that there were agreements with the US equivalent of the French office for combating cyber hate speech.

Khelif, who won gold for women’s welterweight on Friday, and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, were at the centre of a heated social media debate about gender after they were accused of not being women. The slew of online hate included tweets from Rowling, Musk and Trump.

“The smirk of a male who’s [sic] knows he’s protected by a misogynistic sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head,” Rowling wrote on X.

Trump took to his version of X, Truth Social, to state that he would “keep men out of women’s sports”.

Similarly, Musk shared a post from American swimmer Riley Gaines that claimed “men don’t belong in women’s sports.” The X owner quote tweeted the message, adding: “Absolutely.”

A series of clarifications, both from Khelif and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed that Khelif was not a transperson, with the chief spokesperson for the IOC reiterating in a press conference that Khelif was born a woman, raised a woman and was assigned female on her passport.

Pedro Diaz, Khelif’s coach, told Variety that the bullying Khelif endured during her run in the Olympics “incredibly affected her” and “everyone around her.”

He maintained that Khelif was very smart and had amazing motivation, adding that her winning gold at the Olympics felt like the most rewarding victory of his coaching career.