On Sunday, August 31, a user of the website 4chan posted a list of more than 100 female stars who had supposedly been hacked in what is now being called the biggest celebrity hacking scandal in history. Throughout the remainder of the day, alleged photos of A-listers such as Kate Upton, Ariana Grande, Kirsten Dunst and — perhaps most famously — Jennifer Lawrence hit the site in droves, supposedly via an iCloud security leak that allowed a hacker to access their phones.
While the authenticity of many of the photos is yet to be addressed, some reps for the stars have already spoken out about their clients’ violated privacy, thus confirming the seriousness of this hack.
“This is a flagrant violation of privacy,” a spokesperson for Lawrence told The Hollywood Reporter. “The authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence.”
“This is obviously an outrageous violation of our client Kate Upton’s privacy,” Upton’s lawyer Lawrence Shire said in a statement. “We intend to pursue anyone disseminating or duplicating these illegally obtained images to the fullest extent possible.”
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Grande told Buzzfeed that the leaked photos of his client are fake — and some stars, like Mary Elizabeth Winstead, “Glee”‘s Becca Tobin, Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney, and Victoria Justice, took to Twitter to address the hack:
Winstead said the photos had long since been deleted from her phone.
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.
— Mary E. Winstead (@M_E_Winstead) August 31, 2014
Knowing those photos were deleted long ago, I can only imagine the creepy effort that went into this. Feeling for everyone who got hacked.
— Mary E. Winstead (@M_E_Winstead) August 31, 2014
Going on an internet break. Feel free to my @’s for a glimpse of what it’s like to be a woman who speaks up about anything on twitter
Tobin acknowledged the leak, tongue firmly in cheek.
Merry XXXmas!
— Becca Tobin (@becbecbobec) September 1, 2014
Justice said the photos of her were fake.
These so called nudes of me are FAKE people. Let me nip this in the bud right now. *pun intended*
— Victoria Justice (@VictoriaJustice) August 31, 2014
Olympic gymnast Maroney also denied that the posted pictures were of her.
the fake photos of me are crazy!!
was trying to rise above it all, and not give “the creator” the time of day.. BUT.. pic.twitter.com/hceQcOxYkJ— McKayla Maroney (@McKaylaMaroney) September 1, 2014
Apple has not yet commented on whether the photos were gathered through a weakness in its iCloud security, and to what extent it is investigating the leak. If caught, the person of people who posted the photos will likely be face jail time. Christopher Chaney, who posted personal photos of Scarlett Johansson and Mila Kunis online, was sentenced in 2012 to 10 years in prison after a year-long investigation.
Lena Dunham took to Twitter to urge people not to seek out the pictures online:
The way in which you share your body must be a CHOICE. Support these women and do not look at these pictures.
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) September 1, 2014
Remember, when you look at these pictures you are violating these women again and again. It’s not okay.
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) September 1, 2014
Perez Hilton, who had originally reposted the pictures on his site, explained his decision to remove them.
No, I haven’t been forced to do so or been contacted by their reps, but I am removing those uncensored photos of JLaw and Victoria Justice.
— Perez Hilton (@PerezHilton) August 31, 2014
Upon further reflection and just sitting with my actions, I don’t feel comfortable even keeping the censored photos up. I am removing them.
— Perez Hilton (@PerezHilton) August 31, 2014
This story is developing and will be updated as more information surfaces.
Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton And More Respond To Nude Photo Hack
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