Emma Watson to sue over hacked photos

LOS ANGELES: “Beauty and the Beast” star Emma Watson is taking legal action after dozens of private pictures of her trying on clothes were stolen and posted online, her publicist said Wednesday.

“Photos from a clothes fitting Emma had with a stylist a couple of years ago have been stolen,” the 26- year- old British actress’s spokesman told AFP.

“They are not nude photographs. Lawyers have been instructed and we are not commenting further.”

Media reports said the pictures were shared on the so-called “dark web” — an encrypted part of the Internet not easily accessible by users lacking specialist knowledge.

The incident follows controversy over a photoshoot in the March edition of Vanity Fair, prompting criticism that the shoot was not in keeping with the United Nations Women Goodwill Ambassador’s feminist image.

The “Harry Potter” star was also threatened on the controversial 4Chan message board in 2014 with a leak of nude images after delivering a speech on gender equality.

“I knew it was a hoax, I knew the pictures didn’t exist,” she said at a Facebook event the following year after the pictures failed to emerge.

“The minute I stepped up and talked about women’s rights I was immediately threatened — within less than 12 hours I was receiving threats.”