‘What the hell is wrong with her’: Reddit reacts to ‘abhorrent’ JK Rowling justifying any violence Imane Khelif may face
Algerian boxer and Olympic champion Imane Khelif had faced faced a massive amount of hate on social media with Rowling accusing her of being born a male.
Author JK Rowling's latest comment on the bullying faced by Algerian boxer and Olympic champion Imane Khelif has left a section of social media furious. Rowling, who was one of several high-profile names who suggested that Imane was born male, has now suggested that if any harm is caused to Imane as a result of her accusations, then the responsibility will fall on those who lied about Imane's sex. (Also read: HBO introduces new Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley from web series; turns off comments)
On her X account, JK Rowling shared a news report with the caption, “The psychological damage done to the young women he punched, while the entire world watched and the sporting establishment jeered, shamed and gaslit them, is naturally of no importance whatsoever.”
Rowling's comment
A user on X asked in response, “If this poor woman is driven to suicide by your harassment, how will you feel?” In response, Rowling replied, calling Iman a ‘he’ throughout, “If any harm befalls Khelif as a result of the truth coming to light, responsibility will lie solely with those who lied about his sex so that he could carry on endangering young women and stripping them of their rightful honours in front of the world's media.”
How the internet reacted
This tweet made its way on Reddit, where several users on the platform slammed the author for making such an insensitive remark. One user commented, “Imane was born a woman, though, what the f*** is she yapping about? How misogynistic do you have to be to call a non-feminine woman a man? This freak is a disgrace.” Another said, “It’s unfathomable that HBO will want to work with her after this tweet specifically. Yes they’re all bad, but this really feels beyond the pale.” “This is abhorrent. What a miserable, toxic human being,” said another.
A comment read, “Pretty disgusting to say considering JK Rowling has admitted to suffering from suicidal ideation as well. This woman is a husk of a person that is completely devoid of empathy and humanity.” A user wrote, “Rowling is despicable. Who knew Umbridge was her self-insert?”
Last year, Imane Khelif had named Elon Musk and JK Rowling in a cyberbullying lawsuit. Imane won gold in the 66kg division at the Paris Olympics. However, she faced a massive amount of hate on social media, with people accusing her of being transgender or being born male.
