Billy Bragg, 66, sparks fury as he draws 'sick' comparison between Imane Khelif row and Southport stabbings
Billy Bragg has defended Imane Khelif's participation at the Olympics
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Singer-songwriter Billy Bragg, 66, has been branded a "disgrace" and "contemptible" by furious social media users for a post about Imane Khelif's Olympics participation.
On Thursday, Algerian boxer Khelif, 25, emerged victorious against Italian opponent Angela Carini following their boxing bout at this year's Olympic Games in Paris.
The victory was marred in controversy, however, as Carini brought the fight to a close of her own accord before the minute mark in order to "preserve her life".
Khelif's participation has been the subject of debate after she was previously banned from last year's boxing world championships helmed by the IBA [International Boxing Association] for failing a gender eligibility test.
After the 25-year-old was crowned the victor and her Italian opponent was left inconsolable in the ring, several critics took to social media to slam the IOC's [International Olympic Committee] decision to allow Khelif to compete - including Caitlyn Jenner, Piers Morgan and JK Rowling.
Bragg, however, has jumped to Khelif's defence but faced backlash in doing so after he compared the reaction to the boxer's participation to that of the riots that followed after the tragic Southport stabbings last week.
Imane Khelif won her Olympics boxing match against Italian Carini
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Riots took place in Southport and London over the past few days in retaliation to the news that three young girls had been murdered at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class while several others were stabbed and required urgent medical attention.
Violent clashes between protestors and police have followed and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer even addressed the nation on Thursday to roll out new measures to try and prevent further unrest.
Axel Rudakubana, 17, has been charged with murdering the three young girls and it's feared more clashes will ensue with a reported eight further rallies scheduled.
Bragg referred to the outpouring of anger from demonstrators when sharing his thoughts on Khelif, writing on X: "Imane Khelif is a female boxer who has been defeated 9 times by women opponents.
Imane Khelif is a female boxer who has been defeated 9 times by women opponents. Those claiming she's a man have the same aims as those who claimed that the suspect in the Southport stabbings was a Muslim asylum seeker: to stir up hatred against a marginalised community https://t.co/Pn9vaKd7N9
— Billy Bragg (@billybragg) August 1, 2024
"Those claiming she's a man have the same aims as those who claimed that the suspect in the Southport stabbings was a Muslim asylum seeker: to stir up hatred against a marginalised community."
Bragg's post was in response to Harry Potter author Rowling's blistering verdict on the boxing row and he was soon met by floods of angered responses from social media users who took issue with his choice of comparison.
"Billy, you have become a disgrace now. The link that you attempt to make with Southport is just contemptible," one X user penned.
A second similarly raged: "You've used boxing against a murder of 3 children. You're sick man!"
"Yet again there speaks the ignorant misogynist, when will not keep your big nose out of women's affairs," another hit out.
And a fourth commented: "I didn’t think he could get any more contemptible. I was wrong."
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Billy Bragg's social media remarks have been slammed by angered users
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"Bragg having a normal one comparing women wanting fairness in sport to children being stabbed to death. Standard stuff," a fifth sarcastically commented before a sixth weighed in: "Utterly contemptible to compare a man boxing in the woman's category to the Southport stabbings. How the so called mighty have fallen."
However, he did receive backing from some, including BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Steve Bunce who replied: "Thank you. Top words."
Another X user supported Bragg as they argued: "She was born a girl but suffers from high testosterone and couldn’t seek treatment in her country due to prejudice. She’s not a man just had health issues. It’s not ‘trans world gone mad’ it’s disinformation at best and actively inflammatory drivel at worst. Well said." (sic)
The IOC addressed the backlash aimed towards Khelif and fellow boxer Lin Yu-ting - who also failed a gender eligibility test - in a statement that read: "The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure, especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years.
"The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving. Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination."
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