Logan Paul has admitted to “spreading misinformation” on social media after he called Algerian Olympic boxer Imane Khelif a man in a Twitter post that was later deleted.
After Khalifa won a match against Italian boxer Angela Carini at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Thursday, Paul posted on X: “This is the purest form of evil unfolding before our eyes. A man was allowed to beat a woman on the world stage, crushing her lifelong dream while fighting for her dead father. This delusion must end.”
According to GLAAD and InterACT, Khalif is a woman who is not transgender and does not identify as intersex. The Associated Press reported that she was assigned female at birth, which is what Khalif’s passport states.
Paul's initial post drew a number of comments accusing him of misleading his followers about Khalif's gender. Paul then issued a new statement, saying: “Sorry. I may have been guilty of spreading misinformation along with this entire app.”
He later added: “I stand by my feelings that biological men should not compete against biological women in any sport, and if you disagree with that then you are a sick person.”
Khalif's opponent, Carini, withdrew from the match a few minutes after it began, after receiving several blows to the face from the Algerian boxer.
Then, a social media post falsely claimed that Khalifa was transgender and assigned male at birth, which led to an online frenzy, with people debating whether or not Khalifa should be allowed to box in the women's division.
JK Rowling and Elon Musk were among the high-profile names to condemn the Olympics for allowing Khalifa to compete in the women's boxing competition at the Paris 2024 Games.
Although Khalif was disqualified from last year's women's world championships after failing a gender eligibility test due to high levels of testosterone in her system, she was still allowed to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics as she did at the Tokyo 2020 Games, which were held in 2021.
Following the controversy, the Olympic Committee stood by its decision to allow Khalifa to compete in women's boxing, saying: “Everyone competing in the women's category is bound by the eligibility rules. They are women in their passports, and this states that they are female.”
On Saturday, Khalif was in tears after winning her 66kg boxing quarterfinal against Hungary’s Anna-Luka Hamori. It came after she posted a controversial Instagram photo of a muscle-bound horned beast facing off against a female boxer, which she later deleted.
Khalif will face his Thai opponent, Jangam Suwannaphing, in the semi-finals on August 6.
