J.K. Rowling, who apparently can’t go a day without reminding us she’s a bigot, has decided to weigh in on a clear expertise of hers: Olympic boxing. For context: Italian boxer Angela Carini threw in the towel just 46 seconds into her match against Algeria’s Imane Khelif, claiming she’d “never felt a punch like this.” Enter J.K. Rowling, who misgendered Imane Khelif and claimed that she was part of the new men’s rights movement.
It would be one thing if Rowling were expressing her typical transphobia toward a trans woman. But Khelif isn’t transgender. She was raised as a woman and identifies as a woman. She falls under the category of athletes with Differences of Sexual Development, resulting in her disqualification during the 2023 Women’s World Championships for failing testosterone and gender eligibility tests, which is itself problematic because, again, Khelif is a woman. Moreover, according to Harvard Law’s Alejandra Caraballo, “being gay or transgender is illegal in Algeria. Making baseless accusations against Imane Khelif that she is trans because she is a cis woman with elevated testosterone levels puts her life in immediate danger.”
Nevertheless, Rowling decided Khelif’s safety was of no concern to her, tagging the International Olympic Committee, accusing them of robbing Carini of her Olympic dreams by “allowing a male to get in the ring with her.”
“I repeat that all the competitors comply with the eligibility rules,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams stated. “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.”
Carini, her opponent, had no hard feelings. “I wish her to carry on until the end and that she can be happy. I am someone who doesn’t judge anyone. I am not here to give judgments.”
