Elon Musk and JK Rowling have both been named in a lawsuit filed by Imane Khelif following the Algerian’s Olympic campaign in France.
Imane won gold in the women’s welterweight competition but had to deal with online abuse the whole way there, with accusations of being transgender fired at her from every direction after Italian Angela Carini withdrew from their match in under a minute.
Khelif has since filed a suit with French authorities, accusing various individuals of “acts of aggravated Cyber harassment.” Musk, the Tesla CEO who also owns X/Twitter, and Rowling, the author of ‘Harry Potter,’ are both named in the criminal complaint lodged with the anti-online hatred center of the public prosecutor earlier this month.
Nabil Boudi, the boxer’s attorney, told Variety Khelif filed the lawsuit as part of her “fight for justice, dignity and honour.”
Musk’s social media platform is part of the lawsuit, something that will allow the prosecution to investigate everyone who posted hateful messages, even those who did so under fake names.
“J. K. Rowling and Elon Musk are named in the lawsuit, among others,” Boudi tweeted.
The lawyer also revealed 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 noted.
Cyberbullying can land a perpetrator in prison for 2-5 years under French law, while fines range from $33,400-$50,000. A conviction for online hate speech can also attract fines ranging from $82,000-$275,000.
Imane Khelif was disqualified from the World Championships last year, as she allegedly had XY chromosomes. However, she is understood to have been born and raised female.
Elon Musk and JK Rowling were among those who criticized her participation at the recent Olympic Games.
