Double Oopsies: Was Noted Transphobe Logan Paul Named in Cyber Harassment Lawsuit? Val Venis For Sure Not Named Due to Insignificance
Editor’s Note: Oopsies! In the words of Logan Paul, we might be guilty of spreading misinformation about whether Paul was actually sued for transphobic comments. An earlier version of this article stated that Logan Paul was one of the individuals named in Imane Khelif’s cyber harassment lawsuit. Paul has not, actually, been named in the suit as of this time. We have corrected this information and apologize for the error.
The views expressed in this or any other editorial are solely those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views, thoughts, feelings, or sense of humor as any Bodyslam.net staff.
A little more than a week ago, a select group of people had an absolute meltdown when Algerian Fighter Imane Khelif soundly defeated her Italian opponent, Angela Carini, in a boxing match in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. Carini quit after just 46 seconds, which sparked speculation and outrage. The reason? Because Khelif looked a little masculine so, naturally, many in the country assumed she was a man competing in a woman’s league.
Never mind the fact that Khelif was born a biological woman. Never mind the fact that her country is soundly anti-LGBTQ which means they would never send a trans woman to represent their country on the largest stage of them all. Never mind the fact that, really, the entire matter was nobody’s f*cking business.
The fight still resulted in countless individuals “transvestigating” Khelif. Well, maybe that’s not the right word. “Tranvestigate” would imply that literally any research was performed. In actuality, countless individuals took to their Twitter/X page to needlessly and baselessly say that Khelif was a man. Among that group were noted transphobes, yet extremely well-known public figures such as Elon Musk, JK Rowling, and Logan Paul. Val Venis said some things too.
Paul, the former WWE United States Champion stated that Khelif’s win was “the purest form of evil.”
Rowling, Musk, and others made similar statements, despite having no actual proof or doing any actual (creepy) research. Val Venis (Sean Morley) said things too but, honestly, who cares?
Paul, when confronted with the spreading of misinformation, backtracked a bit. But instead of apologizing and saying something like, “Oh, wow. That was shitty. I’m a douchebag. I’m sorry,” he instead doubled down on his transphobia.
And now, ever the fighter, Imane Khelif is hitting back.
It was announced on Tuesday that Khelif was filing a cyber harassment lawsuit against Elon Musk, JK Rowling, and others. While Logan Paul has yet to actually be named in the lawsuit, he was one of the more notable names to have questioned Khelif’s gender.
Val Venis was not, because nobody knows who he is.
Variety reported that the Paris Prosecutor’s Office (National Center for the Fight Against Online Hatred) confirmed that it did receive a complaint filed by Khelif, and they announced that they had begun an investigation.
“On Aug. 13, (The National Center for the Fight Against Online Hatred) contacted the OCLCH (Central Office for the Fight Against Crimes Against Humanity and Hate Crimes) to conduct an investigation into the counts of cyber harassment due to gender, public insult because of gender, public incitement to discrimination and public insult because of origin,” Variety wrote.
It’s like Ben Parker always says, “With great power comes great responsibility.” People like Musk, Rowling, and Paul (not Val Venis) have great power in their social media presence. But far too often, they use that power to spread misinformation, hate, fear, and ignorance. Imane Khelif should have been on Cloud 9 during her week at the Olympics. Instead, she was bullied, stalked, and harassed because celebrities with millions of followers couldn’t take 30 seconds to perform any actual research because they would rather rush to spread fear and hate, instead of truth.
Khelif said all of the comments did affect her greatly, but she never lost her focus. She fought. And she won. Khelif would end up winning the Olympic Gold Medal in boxing for herself, and for her country. She also won it for anybody who has ever been bullied, or abused, or harassed. She won it for the people who have to constantly deal with the ignorance of others. She won that fight and now, she’s taking on a whole different kind of fight. Here’s hoping she wins that too.
Follow Nick on Twitter/X at @WesternRebel
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