JK Rowling calls trans Paralympian Valentina Petrillo 'proud cheat' after semi-final qualification in 400m

PARIS, FRANCE: JK Rowling has referred to transgender Paralympic sprinter Valentina Petrillo as a "proud cheat" with "no shame" after the Italian athlete, 51, qualified for the semi-finals of the visually impaired 400m in the Stade de France.

On September 2, Rowling tweeted mockingly, "Why all the anger about the inspirational Petrillo? The cheat community has never had this kind of visibility!"

She added, "Out and proud cheats like Petrillo prove the era of cheat-shaming is over. What a role model! I say we give Lance Armstrong his medals back and move on." 

JK Rowling asserts that being a man is an advantage in sports

When one critic claimed Petrillo was competing in Paris as a woman "on her own merit", Rowling replied, "Being a man is an advantage in sports that require speed and strength. We both know you know that, but you've chosen to pretend you don't." 

She continued, "I am the daughter of a mother with a disability. This is not an abstract talking point to me, it's a red line." 

Valentina Petrillo failed to qualify for the final of T12 400m

Valentina Petrillo has rejected critics as "jealous" after not making it to the T12 400m final. The athlete said that some competitors were "stronger" than her after losing in the Stade de France semi-final.

''I tried my best until the end, I didn’t make it, I missed the last straight,” Petrillo said, per Daily Mail. "I pushed more than I did this morning and I tried my best. They are stronger than me, I had to go down too much, to do a 56 [­seconds]. With 57.50, I have to be happy even if I’m a little down. "

"I’m a little down, but I hope my son will be proud of me. This is important to me because he has a trans dad, not the dad that everyone dreams of. But I hope he will be proud of me," Valentina added. 

Valentina Petrillo says competing in Paris is fulfilment of a ‘dream'

Petrillo won almost a dozen sprint titles as a man before she transitioned at age 45 in 2019. She has said that competing in Paris is a "dream" come true since she was a child. Valentina insists that it is "better to be a slow happy woman than a fast unhappy man."

The athlete, who had children and was previously married to their mother, is on an incredible journey. "I'm happy as a woman and running as a woman is all I want. I couldn't ask for more", the sprinter said. "This was a dream that I had since I was a little girl."

"I've got a fire inside me, that pushes me. An emotional strength. Obviously, my body's not what it was at 20 when I was at my peak, but my happiness pushes me to go further, to go beyond my limits," Valentina concluded. 

JK Rowling earlier questioned Algerian boxer Imane Khelif's gender

JK Rowling previously went quiet after being included in an official complaint filed by Algerian fighter Imane Khelif regarding cyberbullying she experienced during the 2024 Olympics.

On August 7, Rowling made nine posts, one of which appeared to be a reference to the gender dispute involving Khelif. 

“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,” Rowling wrote, per New York Post. “I can still see the difference and you look frankly bonkers.”

Khelif gained notoriety after defeating Angela Carini in an opening-round match in Paris, after the latter yielded the battle after only 46 seconds. This prompted Rowling and Elon Musk among others to criticize her for competing as a guy in the women's sport.

Khelif, who supposedly failed a gender test at an International Boxing Association competition in 2023, went on to win the gold medal in the 66kg boxing category.

“The idea that those objecting to a male punching a female in the name of sport are objecting because they believe Khelif to be ‘trans’ is a joke,” Rowling wrote in a post on X a day after Khelif’s win over Carini. “We object because we saw a male punching a female.”

Internet contradicts JK Rowling's notion of Valentina Petrillo having advantage over other female athletes

Netizens took issue with the renowned writer's remarks regarding Valentina Petrillo. One X user tweeted, "This isn’t cheating. How is it cheating? She’s a trans woman. By automatically saying that trans people are cheating, you’re associating stereotypes to us that just aren’t true."

Another added, "How is she a cheat Joanne? It’s hormone production that produces the advantage and she no longer produces the requisite levels of T."

"She’s not cheating. She’s a trans woman who has likely had meds to change her body. She’s also been allowed to take part. So I’m not sure how you could consider that cheating," remarked one. "Petrillo has broken no rules. You must enjoy getting sued," said someone else.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.