Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and tech billionaire Elon Musk were named in a complaint filed in France over allegations of “aggravated cyber harassment” against Olympic champion Imane Khelif.
Variety confirmed the news on Tuesday, and said that the lawsuit was filed against X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, the same day Kehlif won a gold medal in the women’s welterweight division of the 2024 Olympics . Khelif’s attorney, Nabil Boudi, told the outlet that this “ensure[s] that the prosecution has all the latitude to be able to investigate against all people,” including those who used pseudonyms to write speech directed at Khelfi. If the prosecutor’s office charges anyone under the statute, it could call for two to five years in prison and tens of thousands of Euros in fines.
Boudi added that Donald Trump would be part of the investigation, as the former president “tweeted, so whether or not he is named in our lawsuit, he will inevitably be looked into as part of the prosecution.” The controversy surrounding the Algerian boxer began on Aug. 1, when her opponent, Italian boxer Angela Carini, withdrew from a match after just 46 seconds, saying, “I have never been hit so hard in my life.
” This led to a wave of baseless criticism from people like Musk, Rowling, Trump, and Logan Paul — all of whom falsely suggested that Khelif is a trans woman and/or that she should be barred from women’s athletic events. (Paul later posted a statement admitting that “I might be guilty of spreading misinformation.”) In fact, Khelif, 25, was assigned female at birth, has never identified as transgender, and the International Olympic Committee has repeatedly asserted her qualifications to compete in the women’s division.
Trending After Trump’s Disastrous Musk Interview, Harris Mocks 'Rich Guys' Who Can't Run a Livestream MAGA Official Found Guilty of Tampering with 2020 Voting Machines Rachel Dratch Flops and Hops as Olympic Breakdancer Raygun on ‘Tonight Show’ The CIA Sent Him Deep Undercover to Spy on Islamic Radicals. It Cost Him Everything Meanwhile, Musk and his social media platform, X, have become the biggest purveyors of misinformation online . Nearly two years since his $44 billion takeover, false and misleading information about wars , health , climate change , elections and more have flourished alongside violent rhetoric and hate speech on the digital forum.
Since 2018, Rowling has approved of or has made repeated transphobic comments online. Rolling Stone recently described the author as “one of the hardest-working transphobes online” and referred to her 2022 novel, The Ink Black Heart , in which a character is persecuted for transphobia . And in March, U.
K. broadcaster India Willoughby filed a criminal complaint against Rowling citing transphophia and claiming she misgendered her, violating the country’s Equalities Act and Gender Recognition Act ..
