Olympic athlete and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, a cisgender woman, has been subjected to a flood of transphobic rhetoric from celebrities such as J.K. Rowling, Elon Musk, J.D. Vance, and the Logan Paul and Jake Paul brothers.
While discourse about trans inclusion and representation in sports has been happening for some time, for the past two days, the spotlight has been firmly on Khelif after she won a match due to the withdrawal of Italian boxer Angela Carini.
The world is now wondering if this narrative surrounding Khelif will persist, particularly if more of her opponents at the Olympic Games withdraw from matches and insist on making the inaccurate claim that Khelif is a trans woman (which she is not).
Namely, Khelif's next match at the Paris 2024 Olympics is against Hungarian boxer Anna Hámori, and sports fans are already clocking the problematic posts shared by Hámori on social media.
"Imane Khelif's next opponent, the Hungarian Luca Hamori, posted this on her IG story… so vile and disgusting," X user @regrttes wrote.
X user @MezahiMaher also took a screenshot of that since-deleted Instagram story, writing:
"Safe to say the Imane Khelif controversy isn't going away anytime soon... This is what her next opponent, Anna Luca Hamori from Hungary, shared on her Instagram account a few hours ago. The bout takes place tomorrow evening."
Upon verifying Hámori's Instagram posts, Out found another concerning Instagram story shared by the Hungarian boxer that regurgitates a quote she's given to news outlets (which has been reported by The Sun):
"I'm not scared. If she or he is a man, it will be a bigger victory for me if I win."
Instagram (@luca_hamori)
Fortunately, there are also celebs and social media fans who are actively fighting against this inaccurate depiction of Khelif as a trans woman.
Pose and Loot actress Michaela Jaé Rodriguez wrote in response to Rowling:
"@jk_rowling my goodness just when I thought you couldn't sink any lower, you do. The Olympics have many strong women yet, you use a biological woman like yourself as fuel, to light your transphobia. I thought you of all people, knew what a real woman is and clearly you don't."
The official X account for the Algeria national football team (@Algeria_FC) wrote:
"Hi @iocmedia @Olympics, Hungarian boxer Luca Hamori posted numerous hateful messages on her Instagram about her upcoming opponent Imane Khelif. This is contrary to the Athletes' Declaration of rights and responsibilities for athletes within the Olympic Movement."
Author and activist Raquel Willis wrote:
"Even if Imane Khelif were transgender and/or intersex, she shouldn't be dissected and discriminated against. It's great that a lot of folks are defending her, but don't let your empathy end there. Trans and intersex folks deserve dignity and respect as well."
X user @turnbulldugarte wrote:
"Imane Khelif is a cisgender woman. She was born female, was registered as a girl at birth, is legally a woman, & continues to identify as a woman. Is transphobia now so bad that even cisgender women cannot be women if they don’t comply with a certain woman ideal-type?"
Another X user, @vbka_, wrote:
"Years ago, Serena Williams faced accusations and almost ended her career due to high hormones levels, yet she had @jk_rowling's support. Today Rowling didn't hesitate to fuel attacks against Imane Khelif. Where do such double standards come from? #IStandWithImaneKhelif."
