Famed author J.K. Rowling slammed biological male “cheat” Valentina Petrillo after he qualified to run against biological women in the Paralympic games in Paris.
Rowling’s viral post compared 51-year-old male Petrillo competing against women to that of famed cyclist Lance Armstrong who had to give back his medals after he was found to have been taking a drug that gave him an advantage in winning his races. On Monday, the biological male runner qualified for the Women’s 400m T12 semi-finals at the Paris Paralympic Games.
“Why all the anger about the inspirational Petrillo?” Rowling wrote sarcastically to her millions of followers. “The cheat community has never had this kind of visibility!”
Why all the anger about the inspirational Petrillo? The cheat community has never had this kind of visibility! 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. #Cheats #NoShame pic.twitter.com/bvqhs3DexI
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 2, 2024
“Out and proud cheats like Petrillo prove the era of cheat-shaming is over,” she added, again sarcastically. “What a role model! I say we give Lance Armstrong his medals back and move on. #Cheats #NoShame.”
“The Harry Potter” author’s post included an image of the man dressed in female runner’s attire.
Olympic medalist Sharron Davies MBE also reacted to Petrillo being allowed to compete against females, noting how unfair it was. Her post included more images of Petrillo on the track competing against females.
“So we ban Lance Armstrong for taking drugs which will give him a small but important advantage over his male rivals because it’s cheating but we let 51 year old male Valentina Petrillo have a huge advantage with no issue at all against female athletes!” Davies post read. “Why is this being allowed?”
REDUXX magazine posted that, “Valentina Petrillo, a father of two, previously won 11 national titles in the men’s category before beginning to identify as a ‘woman.'”
Others on social media said it wasn’t just that Petrillo was cheating because he was a biological male competing against women, but that he was not dealing with the same sight impairments like his female counterparts who were in the competition.
“Notice that the women around Petrillo are running with guides because of their sight impairments,” the person noted, along with video. “His [Petrillo] sight is good enough he doesn’t need a guide A cheating f**king man destroying women’s sports.”
While the Women’s Right’s Network called Petrillo’s inclusion “A RACE TO THE BOTTOM.”
The post noted that “Petrillo has previously won medals running in men’s events. Now that he’s 50 and out of shape, he uses his male physiological advantage against female runners.”
“A woman has already lost a deserved place at the Paralympics because of the ego and shamelessness of this man,” it added. “Now, women are likely to lose out on a chance in the final and podium spots, along with medals, not against a better female runner, but against a cheating man.”
