Imane Khelif has spoken out for the first time after naming J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk in her cyberbullying lawsuit.
Khelif showed the world the true definition of what it means to be a warrior when she secured herself a gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games.
It's just unfortunate that her first Olympic win was riddled with controversy surrounding her gender, with lots of misinformation shared about the athlete's identity online.
Mark Adams, the chief spokesperson for the International Olympic Committee, spoke out about this widespread misinformation at a news conference earlier this month after the 25-year-old was the victim of horrific bullying online following her first boxing match against Angela Carini.
As per the New York Times, Adam stated that Khelif was an eligible athlete and has also stressed that she is not transgender, despite the rumors swirling about her.
Childhood photos of the star were also released as an attempt to emphasize that she had not undergone any transition, and this was just a vicious rumor spread online relating to transphobia as well as other factors related to the perceived femininity of women of color.
In the wake of her win, Khelif is now taking legal action against those fuelling hate against her online.
Speaking to Variety, Nabil Boudi, a Paris-based attorney who is part of the National Center for the Fight Against Online Hatred prosecutor's office confirmed it received the complaint filed by Khelif against the social media platform X about what she had experienced during her time at the Olympics.
"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 statement read, as per the outlet.
The suit goes on to mention specific names including that of J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk.
"J. K. Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others,” he said, adding that Donald Trump would be part of the investigation.
“Trump tweeted, so whether or not he is named in our lawsuit, he will inevitably be looked into as part of the prosecution," he added.
Since the news was announced, Khelif has now addressed what she experienced with Algerian-based news channel El Bilad.
"Immediately after there was a big uproar from big politicians around the world, athletes around the world, and even artists and stars, Elon Musk, Trump... this thing... that affected me," the 25-year-old said.
"I am not lying to you, it affected me. It affected me a lot, hurt me a lot. I can't describe to you the amount of fear I had," she continued before adding: "The scenario was very scary. Thank god, all the people of Algeria and the Arab world knew Imane Khelif with her femininity, her courage, her will."
"Honestly, I don't like to get into politics in sports, but they got into politics in sports. Sports and politics are two separate things. These politicians who are oppressing me, they don't have the right to say that I'm a [sic] transgender," she concluded.
It comes after the Algerian athlete spoke out about the impact of bullying during her time in Paris.
Speaking to the SNTV, she said she had a message for the people of the world.
"I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has effects, massive effects," Khelif said in Arabic in an interview with SNTV, according to the Associated Press.
"It can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit, and mind. It can divide people. And because of that, I ask them to refrain from bullying," she added.
We hope Khelif gets the justice she deserves.
