Blogger leaks nude photos of top celebrities, apologises
Jennifer Lawrence, Kirsten Dunst among targeted; blogger Perez Hilton sorry for leak
Los Angeles: Nude photos of many top Hollywod stars, including Oscarwinner Jennifer Lawrence and pop star Rihanna, Kate Upton, Victoria Justice, Selena Gomez, and Kirsten Dunst were circulated on social media on Sunday, in an apparent massive hacking leak, US media reported.
Word of the images began spreading early Sunday, amid reports that the photos had been obtained by hacking iCloud accounts, Mashable and other media reported.
The leaked photos prompted angry reactions from the stars involve.
“This is a flagrant violation of privacy. The authorities have been con- tacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence,” said Lawrence’s agent. By late Sunday, Twitter had begun suspending accounts that linked to the Lawrence photos, said Mashable.
Among the other celebrities whose pictures allegedly were stolen and posted online were Avril Lavigne, Amber Heard, Gabrielle Union, Hayden Panettiere and Hope Solo, according to Mashable. Media reports said among the other starlets targeted were Hillary Duff, Jenny McCarthy, Kaley Cuoco, Kate Upton, Kate Bosworth, Keke Palmer and Kim Kardashian.
Former Nickelodeon star and singer Victoria Justice said the images claiming to show her nude were anything but the real deal. “These so called nudes of me are FAKE people. Let me nip this in the bud right now. ‘ pun intended’” she tweeted.
A spokesperson actress and pop for star Ariana Grande told BuzzFeed that images said to be of her, are “completely fake.” Actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead, acknowledged her frustration. “To those of you looking at photos I took with my husband years ago in the privacy of our home, hope you feel great about yourselves,” she tweeted.
Blogger Perez Hilton has apologised for this leak, touted as the one of the biggest celebrity hacking scandals in recent times. Hilton first released the pictures on image- sharing site 4chan. He removed them later and expressed regret on Twitter. “No, I haven’t been forced to do so or been contacted by their reps, but I am removing those photos of JLaw and Victoria Justice,” he wrote
Later he tweeted, “I acted in haste just to get the post up and didn’t think things through. I’m sorry. At work we often have to make quick decisions. I made a bad one today and then made it worse. I feel awful.” — AFP, PTI