Why J.K. Rowling Has Gone Silent on Social Media
A report suggests the reason for the author’s absence from social media is connected with her being named in a cyberbullying lawsuit brought by Algerian boxer Imane Khelif.

ANGELA WEISS/Getty Images
J.K. Rowling has not posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, for two weeks and, according to a report, the outspoken Harry Potter author has deleted “a trove of tweets.”
The unsubstantiated report in BroBible suggests the reason for Rowling’s retreat from social media was because she was named in a cyberbullying lawsuit filed by controversial gold-medal-winning Algerian boxer Imane Khelif.
Elon Musk was also named in the suit claiming Khelif was unfairly painted as a man fighting in a woman’s boxing contest.
Rowling posted a series of messages on her X account on August 7, including one that read: “For the record, bombarding me with pictures of athletic women to ‘teach’ me that women don’t all look like Barbie is like spamming me with pics of differently-shaped potatoes to prove rocks are edible. I can still see the difference and you look frankly bonkers.”
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On the same day, she also posted: “Commentators pretending critics of the IOC’s reliance on documents rather than sex testing think Khelif is trans are straw-manning. I don’t claim Khelif is trans. My objection, and that of many others, is to male violence against women becoming an Olympic sport.”
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There have not been any posts on Rowling’s X account since that day.
The writer and feminist activist raised her concerns about the decision by the International Olympic Committee to allow Khelif and Taiwanese gold medallist Lin Yu-Ting to compete, overruling the objections of the International Boxing Association.
“What will it take to end this insanity? A female boxer left with life-altering injuries? A female boxer killed?" Rowling wrote on X on July 30.
What will it take to end this insanity? A female boxer left with life-altering injuries? A female boxer killed? https://t.co/2OGWUQYtU5
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) July 30, 2024
On August 13, the Algerian boxer filed a criminal complaint to the French authorities claiming alleged “acts of aggravated cyber harassment.” Khelif’s lawyer said Rowling and Musk would be named in the lawsuit over remarks they made on social media, the BBC reported.
Rowling has not commented on the report.
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