JK Rowling Jumps Into Olympics Gender Controversy, Calls Female Algerian Boxer Imane Khelif A 'Man'

After Elon Musk and Logan Paul, JK Rowling has waded into the debate about the Paris Olympic boxing row. However, soon after voicing her opinion, the Harry Potter creator drew criticism for labelling a female boxer a man. A match sparked controversy when a fight between Italian boxer Angela Carini and Algeria’s Imane Khelif ended after just 46 seconds on Thursday.

Angela Carini addressed the media after abandoning the bout that she preferred to stop as she had never felt a punch like this and chose her health over a match. for the unversed, Imane Khelif is one of the two boxers permitted to fight at the Paris Olympics despite being disqualified from the women's world championships in 2023 for failing gender eligibility and testosterone tests.

What did JK Rowling post about the ongoing controversy?

Taking to her X handle, the Harry Potter creator shared a photo of Khelif seemingly smiling at her opponent after the match and wrote, "Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male who knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered.”

In another post, she wrote to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), "A young female boxer has just had everything she’s worked and trained for snatched away because you allowed a male to get in the ring with her.”

This is not all, Rowling shared another post where she said that DSD cannot help the way they were born but they can "choose not to cheat".

What does the IOC have to say about the ongoing controversy?

On Thursday, Mark Adams, spokesman of IOC was asked about the recent fallout. To this, she said, "I repeat that all the competitors comply with the eligibility rules. But what I would say is that this involves real people. And, by the way, this is not a transgender issue. I should make this absolutely clear.”