Imane Khelif, the Algerian boxer who won the Olympic gold medal in the women's 66kg category, has filed a complaint against online harassment in Paris.
During her Olympics, the 25-year-old was subjected to social media bullying after one of her opponents, Italian boxer Angela Carini, walked out of her quarter-final bout 46 seconds into it, saying she had “never felt a punch like that”. Khalif was disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) from the women’s world championships last year after failing a gender eligibility test due to high levels of testosterone in her system, but she was born female and does not identify as transgender or intersex.
However, prominent influencers such as Logan Paul falsely claimed that Khalifa was a man (Paul later retracted his statement), while other controversial figures such as J.K. Rowling, Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni blamed the Olympics for allowing Khalifa to compete in the women's boxing competition.
Shortly after her victory over China's Yang Liu on Friday, Khalif filed a complaint with the National Centre for the Fight against Online Hate, which is part of the Paris Correctional Court, her lawyer Nabil Boudi confirmed to diverse. The Paris prosecutor's office, which has not yet received the complaint, is expected to open an investigation.
Boude told French newspaper Le Monde that Khalif was the victim of online bullying and “speculation fueled by malicious individuals” and noted that “these messages were posted by important political figures” and “exceeded 100 million views” in some cases.
Khalif spoke candidly about her ordeal in an interview with SNTV, an Associated Press outlet, and said her family was worried about her. “I am sending a message to all the people of the world to support the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, and to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has consequences, huge consequences,” she said.
“Bullying can destroy people, it can kill people's ideas, their souls, their minds. It can divide people. That's why I ask them to refrain from bullying,” Khalif said, thanking the Olympic Committee for “being fair.”
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has questioned the legitimacy of the allegations and the genetic test that disqualified Khalif last year, suggesting the controversy over her gender was orchestrated by the International Boxing Federation, which is led by Russian businessmen and has been banned from the Olympics since June 2023 because of its ties to the Kremlin.
Khalif is one of several Olympics participants who have filed a complaint against online bullying. Thomas Joly, the artistic director of the opening and closing ceremonies, executive director Thierry Ripoll, DJ Barbara Boch and famous drag queen Nikki Doll have also filed complaints.
