A scandal is shaking the Olympic world: Algerian Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif addressed tech billionaire Elon Musk directly in an explosive interview with French broadcaster TF1 last night – and publicly blamed him for a wave of racist and transphobic hate comments that she experienced during the 2025 Summer Olympics in Paris.
” I’m not just an athlete, I’m a human being—and the internet, especially X (formerly Twitter), has become a platform of pure hate ,” Khelif said tearfully. She accused Musk of systematically dismantling moderation teams and making hate speech acceptable since acquiring X in 2022.
According to Khelif, the flood of offensive comments is not only misogynistic , but explicitly racist and transphobic . The athlete already faced hostility in 2023 due to her masculine appearance after being excluded from the World Championships for “medical reasons.” This year, however, the hatred reached a new level—and many of these comments spread unfiltered and went viral on X.
” Elon Musk didn’t just look the other way—he actively created a climate in which people like me were targeted. This is not freedom of speech. This is organized hatred,” Khelif continued.
The reactions were quick: Thousands of users expressed their solidarity with the courageous athlete under the hashtag #IStandWithImane . At the same time, #MuskOutOfOlympics is trending , while human rights organizations are once again sharply criticizing Musk’s platform.
The Olympic Committee has not yet issued an official statement, but insiders report that internal crisis talks are already underway. Elon Musk himself has not yet responded to the allegations, although he has rarely missed an opportunity to publicly defend himself in the past.
But one thing is clear: this controversy will not fizzle out anytime soon – and it raises uncomfortable questions about the role of social media in global sporting events, the responsibility of tech giants – and the humanity behind the medal.
