ITV has been accused of censoring hundreds of social media comments about Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif, including a response from tennis legend Martina Navratilova that referred to the athlete as male.
The broadcaster allegedly hid numerous comments on X after posting about Khelif, who was recently banned from women's boxing by World Boxing following leaked test results showing XY chromosomes.
The controversy erupted when ITV shared an article about the psychological damage caused to Khelif after being named by World Boxing.
Navratilova responded: "But a male beating the crap out of women is not too bad, apparently."
But a male beating the crap out of women is not too bad, apparently
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) June 5, 2025
Her comment was initially hidden from view, requiring users to click through to read it. The post was only reinstated after complaints from social media users.
ITV's article carried the headline "Naming Imane Khelif has caused 'immeasurable psychological damage'" after the Algerian Boxing Federation complained about World Boxing's decision to name the boxer.
The governing body had announced mandatory sex testing for boxers wanting to compete, specifically naming Khelif as someone who would need to undergo testing before participating in this month's Eindhoven Box Cup.
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Martina Navratilova is one of many X users that saw their comments hidden on ITV's post
Getty
Whilst Navratilova's comment was eventually restored, dozens of other responses remain hidden on the platform. Many of these simply stated that the boxer is male.
Users can hide responses they dislike on X, meaning comments don't automatically appear in feeds.
However, they cannot delete them entirely, and followers can still view hidden responses if they choose to do so.
Numerous other X users saw their comments hidden for stating that the boxer was male.
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One user wrote: "It's hardly worse than pretending to be a chick so you can beat chicks up while they fear a ban if they complain. Get a grip."
Another commented: "I think the damage his mentally-ill man inflicted on women was far greater."
A third said: "He punches women. What about the harm, physical and mental, suffered by them? He knows tests have shown him to have XY chromosomes."
One comment was hidden for retweeting JK Rowling, who said: "The media had all the evidence they needed, but chose to distort, obscure, and deflect because reality was politically inconvenient."
One comment expressed concern about safety: "Sending female boxers into the ring to box against a male could have resulted in life-changing injuries or death for the women. I frankly don't give a stuff for Khelif's 'psychological damage'. He should never have been there."
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Fiona McAnena demanded an apology from ITV after the censored comments
PA
Fiona McAnena, director of campaigns at women's rights charity Sex Matters, demanded an apology from ITV over the censorship.
"It's shocking that the UK's largest commercial broadcast network has censored hundreds of gender-critical comments on social media, many of them simply referring to Imane Khelif as male," she said.
"Hiding a simple truth about a major news story is a remarkable failure by a journalistic organisation."
McAnena highlighted the particular concern over Navratilova's hidden comment: "It's scandalous that ITV hid a reply from tennis legend Martina Navratilova, which they reinstated after an outcry.
"But what of the hundreds of other replies that remain censored, some of which do nothing but quote JK Rowling about the boxing row?"
She warned that without an apology, ITV would damage its credibility as a respected news organisation.
Khelif won gold at last year's Paris Olympics despite having been disqualified from the 2023 World Championships when tests indicated the presence of male chromosomes.
Earlier this week, World Boxing banned Khelif from fighting against women in the Eindhoven World Cup unless the champion underwent a sex test, which was refused.
An ITV source told the Telegraph they used an automated moderation system, adding: "It was initially set to a very strict moderation threshold, but has now been adjusted to be less stringent."
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