Imane Khelif is celebrating winning the Olympic gold medal in the women’s boxing 66-kilogram division. She has also filed a legal complaint because of the intense scrutiny she's dealt with during the Paris Olympics. The 25-year-old Algerian boxer has been at the center of a controversy over who can compete in women's sports, with many people falsely claiming that she is a man. Imane was thrust into the spotlight after her first Olympic fight opponent, Italian boxer Angela Carini, quit 46 seconds into their fight.
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Angela later apologized.
Angela later apologized for the way she acted after the fight. She didn't shake Imane's hand and she cried, saying she quit due to "severe pain" from Imane's punches, per the Associated Press.
After the fight, people began spreading rumors that Imane was actually a man or a transgender woman. Angela later said she made a mistake when she didn't shake Imane's hand. "I'm sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision," she told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. She added that she "was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke" during the moment in which she refused to shake Imane's hand.
High-profile figures took part in criticizing Imane.
High-profile celebrities and public figures were among those spreading false information about Imane, with many citing the International Boxing Association's decision to disqualify Imane from the 2023 championships. The IBA claimed Imane failed an unspecified gender ineligibility test. The International Olympic Committee has defended Imane and said she is eligible to compete.
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Imane has filed a legal complaint.
Imane has said she is "fully qualified to take part in this competition," per ESPN. "I'm a woman like any other woman. I was born as a woman, I live as a woman, and I am qualified."
She has now filed a legal complaint because of the online harassment she has faced. Her attorney, Nabil Boudi, shared a statement on X, calling the hate that Imane was subjected to a "misogynistic, racist and sexist campaign," according to USA Today.
"The unfair harassment suffered by the boxing champion will remain the biggest stain of these Olympic Games," the attorney shared in the statement.
Imane has spoken up about the effects of bullying.
Previously, Imane told SNTV that bullying "has effects, massive effects." Bullying and harassment “can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind. It can divide people," she added. "And because of that, I ask them to refrain from bullying."
She also called the false information and hateful commentary spread by people online "immoral," per Reuters. "I want to change the minds of people around the world," she said.
Prosecutors will decide whether to start an investigation.
The legal complaint was filed on August 9 with a special unit in the Paris prosecutor’s office dedicated to online hate speech and harassment. The complaint doesn't list a perpetrator, as that is up to prosecutors to determine, the Associated Press reported.
Speaking to French newspaper Le Monde, per Variety, Imane's lawyer called the people who made hateful comments about Imane and spread misinformation "malicious individuals." The lawyer also drew attention to the fact that some of the people who engaged in this online harassment were "important political figures" with large audiences. Some of their posts "exceeded 100 million views," he pointed out.
