Logan Paul admitted to “spreading misinformation” on social media after wrongly calling Algerian Olympic boxer Imane Khelif a man in a since-deleted X/Twitter post.
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After Khelif’s win in a match against Italian boxer Angela Carini at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Thursday, Paul posted on X: “This is the purest form of evil unfolding right before our eyes. A man was allowed to beat up a woman on a global stage, crushing her life’s dream while fighting for her deceased father. This delusion must end.”
Khelif is a woman who is not transgender nor identifies as intersex, according to GLAAD and InterACT. She was assigned female at birth, the Associated Press reported , and it says so on Khelif’s passport.
Paul’s initial post prompted numerous comments calling him out for misinforming his followers about Khelif’s gender. The internet personality then issued a new statement, which read, “OOPSIES. I might be guilty of spreading misinformation along with the entirety of this app.”
He later added, “I stand by my sentiment that biological men should not compete against biological women in any sport and if you disagree you’re a sick f***.”
Khelif’s opponent Carini abandoned the match a few minutes into its start following several blows to the face by the Algerian boxer.
Afterward, one post on social media wrongly claimed Khelif was transgender and assigned male at birth, which led to an online frenzy, with people debating whether or not Khelif should be allowed to box in the women’s category.
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J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk were among the high-profile names condemning the Olympics for allowing Khelif to compete in the women’s boxing competition at the Paris 2024 games.
Though Khelif was disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Championships after she failed a gender eligibility test due to elevated levels of testosterone in her system, she was nevertheless allowed to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics as she did at the 2020 Tokyo games, which were held in 2021.
Following the controversy, the Olympics has stood by its decision to allow Khelif to compete in the women’s boxing competition, saying: “Everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules. They are women in their passports and it is stated that is the case, that they are female.”
On Saturday, Khelif broke down in tears after winning the 66 kg quarter-final boxing match against Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori . This followed her posting a controversial, now-deleted image on Instagram of a muscular horned monster facing off against a female boxer.
Khelif will next face Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng in the semi-final on Aug. 6.
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