Featured Image Credit: Richard Pelham/Getty Images / Jared Siskin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Topics: Elon Musk, Imane Khelif, Boxing, Sport
Gerrard Kaonga
Topics: Elon Musk, Imane Khelif, Boxing, Sport
Imane Khelif has called out Elon Musk for his role in the barrage of online hate she has received in the highly-publicised Olympics gender row.
If you became an Olympic gold medalist you would think you would be on top of the world.
But female Algerian boxer has been in the middle of the controversy since her first bout in the Paris Olympics.
Khelif’s fight against Italy's Angela Carini made headlines when the pair exchanged only a few punches before Carini retired.
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In 2023, Khelif was banned from the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships as she failed an unspecified gender eligibility test.
This has spurred the accusations that Khelif was born a man or is transgender, despite being listed as female on her passport and birth certificate and being deemed eligible to compete by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the Olympics.
Due to the online bullying and trolling, throughout and after the Olympics, the boxer launched a cyberbullying lawsuit.
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Donald Trump, JK Rowling and Elon Musk are among some of the highest profile individuals linked to the complaint.
Speaking on French TV show Clique over the weekend, Khelif explained how the whole incident had impacted her and questioned why Musk contributed to the controversy by sharing a post.
“Elon Musk was one of the first to attack me during this hate campaign,” she said in the interview.
“He posted this video and it was retweeted. So, he was one of the first to have spread this buzz, this campaign against me.
“I would say... you hate me but you don't even know me. I don't even know why you led this attack. You have been cruel to me, cruel to my family, to my mother.
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“At that time, my mother was going to hospital every day.”
Khelif struggled to contain her emotions as she recalled the online hate and explained how she overcame it.
Wiping away a tear she said: “So I don't understand the behavior of people today. God is my guide, I am a practicing Muslim woman. I am a Muslim Arabic woman and I got through this moment.
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“I hope I will be even stronger in the future and come back even more motivated.”
Khelif has previously spoken about how much the conversation around her gender at the Olympics ‘hurt her a lot’. She also insisted that politics should be kept out of sport.
UNILAD has previously reached out to Elon Musk’s representatives for comment.