J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk have both been named in a criminal complaint filed to French authorities over alleged “acts of aggravated cyber harassment” against Algerian boxer and newly crowned Olympic champion Imane Khelif.
Nabil Boudi, the Paris-based attorney of Khelif, confirmed to Variety that both figures were mentioned in the body of the complaint, posted to the anti-online hatred center of the Paris Prosecutor’s Office on Friday.
In a statement sent to Variety, the Paris Prosecutor’s Office (National Center for the Fight Against Online Hatred), confirmed it received the complaint filed by Khelif and announced that an investigation had been launched. “On Aug. 13, (The National Center for the Fight Against Online Hatred) contacted the OCLCH (Central Office for the Fight Against Crimes Against Humanity and Hate Crimes) to conduct an investigation into the counts of cyber harassment due to gender, public insult because of gender, public incitement to discrimination and public insult because of origin.”
The lawsuit was filed against X, which under French law means that it was filed against unknown persons. That “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 pseudonyms, said Boudi. The complaint nevertheless mentions famously controversial figures.
“J. K. Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others,” he said.
Khelif — who on Saturday won the Olympic gold medal in the women’s 66 kilogram boxing competition — spent much of the 2024 Olympics in Paris at the center of a noisy and unpleasant dispute about her gender eligibility that reverberated around the world. Despite being born female and not identifying as transgender or intersex — and being backed by the International Olympic Committee, who asserted “scientifically, this is not a man fighting a woman” — Khelif faced a torrent of accusations and abuse over her gender.
Most of the attacks came via social media, particularly on X/Twitter, and the controversy was escalated when high-profile figures stepped into the fray. In one message to her 14.2 million followers, Rowling posted a picture from Khelif’s fight with Italian boxer Angela Carini, accusing the former of being a man who was “enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head.” Musk, meanwhile, shared a post from swimmer Riley Gaines that claimed “men don’t belong in women’s sports.” The X owner co-signed the message by writing: “Absolutely.”
On his social platform, Truth Social, former President Donald Trump posted a photo from Khelif’s fight against Carina accompanied by the message: “I will keep men out of women’s sports!”
Boudi said 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.”
Boudi also claimed that while the lawsuit was filed in France, “it could target personalities overseas,” pointing out that “the prosecutor’s office for combating online hate speech has the possibility to make requests for mutual legal assistance with other countries.” He added that there were agreements with the U.S. equivalent of the French office for combating online hate speech.
Logan Paul was also among those who attacked Khelif on social media, posting on X following her win against Carini: “This is the purest form of evil unfolding right before our eyes. A man was allowed to beat up a woman on a global stage, crushing her life’s dream while fighting for her deceased father. This delusion must end.”
Paul later deleted the post and admitted that he “might be guilty of spreading misinformation.”
But for Boudi, such apologies — including those that Khelif has received personally from prominent figures who tweeted derogatory comments — wouldn’t change anything regarding the investigation. “The lawsuit is filed and the facts remain,” he said.
As for X, Boudi said the complaint is aimed at the authors of social media posts and not the platforms themselves. “It’s the responsibility of lawmakers to issue sanctions to platforms, not ours,” he said. But he did note that cyber harassment cases were now being taken much more seriously by judicial authorities and that, in some cases, “there are prison sentences.”
Khelif’s coach, Pedro Diaz, told Variety that the bullying Khelif endured during her run in the Olympics “incredibly affected her” and “everyone around her.”
“The first time she fought in the Olympics, there was this crazy storm outside of the ring,” said Diaz, who runs Miami-based Mundo Boxing Gym and started training with Khelif in February 2023. “I had never seen anything so disgusting in my life,” added the coach, who has participated in the training of 21 Olympic champions prior to the Algerian boxer. Diaz said he asked Khelif to refrain from looking at social media so she “wouldn’t lose her focus on winning the gold medal.”
“She’s so smart and has such an amazing motivation,” he said, adding that her gold medal win “felt like the most rewarding victory of my career as a coach.”
Khelif’s complaint for online harassment is actually one of several filed with investigations launched during the Paris Olympics. Prosecutors are also investigating a complaint filed by Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the opening and closing ceremonies, who said he was “the target of threatening messages and insults” and others from DJ Barbara Butch and celebrated drag queen Nicky Doll. Butch claimed she had received online harassment, death threats, and insults following the opening ceremony.
,
