Well, well, well. Now Ireland’s former Taoiseach has swooped in to defend the Olympian at the centre of a gender row. Leo Varadkar’s gushing Instagram post in support of gold medallist Imane Khelif hit users’ feeds last night, accompanied by some rather odd graphics. The ex-Irish PM reposted a screenshot from the ‘@fitnessgayz’ account, with the words ‘Get em girl!!’ emblazoned across the image in bright pink. The former Fine Gael leader then launched into an impassioned defence of Khelif – who has faced backlash for competing in the women’s boxing after previously failing gender eligibility tests – and even suggested he would make a donation to her cyberbullying lawsuit against JK Rowling and Elon Musk.
‘Fair play to Imane Khelif,’ Varadkar declared on the photo-messaging app. ‘I hope she has financial support for her lawsuit. I’d be happy to make a donation.’ The ex-Taoiseach’s tirade continued:
She was born a girl, almost certainly assigned that gender by the doctor or midwife based on her physical characteristics.
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