Olympic boxer Imane Khelif has hit out at Elon Musk 's "cruel" comments towards her during the 2024 Paris Olympics this summer after huge controversy over her participation.
Khelif won gold for Algeria in the women's welterweight category but came under fire for being allowed to compete despite failing a sex test last year and being disqualified from the World Boxing Championships - though she was born a woman.
The 25-year-old received criticism from some high profile figures during the Games, including former US President Donald Trump, author JK Rowling and tech billionaire Musk - who had reposted a message on X, claiming "men don't belong in women's sports" by writing: "Absolutely".
Musk - who is the outspoken owner of social media platform X - has reportedly been named alongside the likes of Rowling in a lawsuit filed in France by Khelif after the torrent of abuse that came her way before her Olympic victory - and now the fighter has opened up on his "cruel" behaviour.
"Elon Musk was one of the first to attack me during this hate campaign,' Khelif told Clique. "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.
"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. 'I hope I will be even stronger in the future and come back even more motivated."
Criticism towards Khelif came after she defeated Italian boxer Angela Carini in just 46 seconds, with her opponent quitting the fight following just a handful of punches - and later claiming she had never felt power like it in her career.
Harry Potter author Rowling accused Khelif of being a man who was "enjoying the distress of a woman he's just punched in the head". Meanwhile, Trump posted a picture of her fight with Carini alongside the caption: "I will keep men out of women's sports!"
Khelif added that she felt "scared" after the stinging comments from high profile individuals, saying: "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.
"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."