J.K. Rowling misgenders boxer Imane Khelif amid Olympic boxing controversy

Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling is being criticized for referring to a female Olympic boxer as a man.

The match between Italian boxer Angela Carini and Algeria's Imane Khelif concluded after only 46 seconds on Thursday when Carini, in tears, forfeited the bout.

Controversy has erupted at the Paris Olympics because Khelif is one of two boxers allowed to compete despite being disqualified from the women's world championships in 2023 for failing testosterone and gender eligibility tests.

However, Khelif was raised and identifies as female and is not transgender. Athletes with Differences of Sexual Development (DSD), who are raised as female but have XY chromosomes, resulting in male-range blood testosterone levels, are currently permitted to compete in women's events at the Olympics.

Among those misgendering Khelif is J.K. Rowling, a vocal critic of certain aspects of the transgender movement. The author posted a photo of Khelif smiling at her opponent after the match and commented, “Could any picture sum up our new men’s rights movement better? The smirk of a male who knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head, and whose life’s ambition he’s just shattered.”

Rowling also sent a letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), calling their safeguarding "a joke." She stated, “a young female boxer has just had everything she’s worked and trained for snatched away because you allowed a male to get in the ring with her.”