Olympics gender row boxer Imane Khelif hits out at Elon Musk for ‘cruel’ attack in emotional interview: ‘You hate me but you don’t even know me’

An emotional Imane Khelif has taken aim at Elon Musk for leading a ‘cruel’ campaign against her during this summer’s Olympics.

The Algerian boxer, who was competing in the women’s welterweight category, claimed a gold medal out in Paris despite the fierce controversy surrounding her gender that dominated headlines throughout the Games.

Khelif was cleared to compete at the Olympics just one year after being thrown out of the World Boxing Championships for allegedly failing tests which proved she has male ‘XY’ chromosomes, a decision which sparked outrage across the globe.

However, the International Boxing Association – the organization which sanctions the world championships – has never put forward any scientific evidence to support its claims.

Despite being born a female, Khelif was subjected to unproven accusations and abuse throughout the Olympics, with Musk even joining the pile-on at one stage.

Imane Khelif (pictured) has hit out at Elon Musk

She has accused Musk of a 'cruel' attack on her

The X billionaire, who along with Donald Trump has reportedly been named in a cyberbullying lawsuit filed by Khelif, quoted a post on his own platform which called for men to be thrown out of women’s sports in light of her round of 16 victory over Italy’s Angela Carini.

In an interview on French TV show CLIQUE, Khelif fought back the tears after being asked about Musk inviting further abuse with his post about her on X.

‘Elon Musk was one of the first to attack me during this hate campaign,’ she said. ‘He posted this video and it was retweeted. So, he was one of the first to have spread this buzz, this campaign against me.

‘I would say… you hate me but you don’t even know me. I don’t even know why you led this attack. You have been cruel to me, cruel to my family, to my mother.

‘At that time, my mother was going to hospital every day.’

Khelif then paused to wipe away the tears before adding: ‘So I don’t understand the behavior of people today. God is my guide, I am a practicing Muslim woman. I am a Muslim Arabic woman and I got through this moment.

Musk agreed with a post from Riley Gaines which called for men to be thrown out of women's sports after Khelif's win over Italian Angela Carini

Khelif fought back the tears after opening up on the abuse she suffered over the summer

The Algerian boxer won gold despite being at the center of fierce controversy over her gender

‘I hope I will be even stronger in the future and come back even more motivated.’

Another high-profile figure who alleged that Khelif is a man was Donald Trump, who also received criticism from the Olympic champion last month.

She has since filed a cyberbullying lawsuit in France which also apparently names JK Rowling as well as Musk and Trump. And she didn’t spare the latter from her anger in an interview in Algeria with El Birad.

‘Immediately after there was a lot of noise from politicians, athletes, stars, artists — Elon Musk and Donald Trump and that hurt me a lot, I cannot describe how scared I was,’ the 25-year-old said.

‘This affected me. I’m not lying to you, it affected me a lot. It hurt a lot. I can’t describe the fear I had but thank God I was able to overcome it. Thank god, all the people of Algeria and the Arab world knew Imane Khelif with her femininity, her courage, her will.’