Nude Photos Of Jennifer Lawrence Spark Reports Of Massive Celebrity-Photo Leak
Several hours ago nude and risqué photos of many celebrities leaked online, the work of a hacker who, it is alleged, successfully breached Apple’s iCloud service and copied the photos. While some celebrities have disputed the authenticity of the images, Jennifer Lawrence and others have confirmed that theirs are genuine.
By Sadho Ram — 01 Sep 2014, 05:04 PM — Updated about 10 years ago
Editor's note: SAYS is not linking any source directly to the leak, nor are we going to share the extremely private photos of anyone.
On Sunday, the Internet practically melted down when racy photos, allegedly of celebrities including Jennifer Lawrence and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, were posted on the Web forum 4chan
Jennifer Lawrence won an Academy Award in 2013 for her role in "Silver Linings Playbook"
Image via turner.comPhotos purportedly showing Jennifer Lawrence and more than 100 other Hollywood stars naked have leaked online. Among others the list includes Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, Mary Kate Olsen, Cara Delevingne, Kate Bosworth, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Kate Upton, Kirsten Dunst and Kaley Cucoo.
While people questioned the authenticity of the leaked photos, the frenzy picked up when Lawrence's publicist confirmed that these were stolen photos, and promised that there would be legal action
“This is a flagrant violation of privacy. The authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence,” her representative said in a statement Sunday evening.
washingtonpost.comAccording to BuzzFeed, the Web forum 4chan was behind the leak. It also said the pictures were allegedly discovered by an iCloud leak which allowed the celebrities' phones to be hacked.
A master list purporting to be of all of the celebrities who were hacked began to make the rounds online, listing dozens of names of female stars like Ariana Grande, Victoria Justice, Kim Kardashian, Rihanna, Kate Upton, Lea Michele, Kirsten Dunst, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, among others.
The pictures allegedly were retrieved due to an Apple iCloud leak that allowed celebrities’ phones to be hacked, and were posted on 4chan in an attempt to earn bitcoins.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who starred in the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, spoke out about the hack via Twitter:
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
Victoria Justice, a Nickelodeon actress, tweeted that the "so called nudes" of her were fake, while also re-tweeting a collage for proof:
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
GUYD WE ARE SO STUPID THE VICTORIA JUSTICE NUDES ARE FAKE, LOOK. CLEARLY AN OLD PICTURE OF HER EDITED & FLIPPED. pic.twitter.com/T9cayuc2ZI
— Domi | 39 (@JusticeCosgrove) August 31, 2014
Meanwhile, Glee star Becca Tobin, who was also named in the leak, also tweeted shortly after their release:
Merry XXXmas!
— Becca Tobin (@becbecbobec) September 1, 2014
Perez Hilton, celebrity gossip columnist, who initially posted censored and uncensored versions of some of the photos on his site, has since removed them and apologised for the posts
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
I acted in haste just to get the post up and didn't really think things through. I'm sorry.
— Perez Hilton (@PerezHilton) August 31, 2014
At work we often have to make quick decisions. I made a really bad one today and then made it worse. I feel awful and am truly sorry.
— 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
While there have been reports that the hacker accessed the files through the iCloud accounts, this has not been confirmed
According to some reports the pictures could be retrieved due to Apple’s iCloud vulnerability that allowed the hacker to get access to celebrities’ photo streams. The perpetrator then posted some of the images on 4chan, an image-based bulletin board, along with a list of possible victims.
rt.comApple has been contacted for comment but has not yet responded to questions. The Huffington Post reported the Los Angeles police department told them they had “no knowledge” of any hacking at this stage.
theguardian.com
Although Hollywood stars frequently complain about their privacy in real life, security in the digital sphere has become an exceptionally tough challenge through the years, mostly because leaked photos are big business
Actress Scarlett Johansson was among the celebrities victimized by "hackerazzi" Christopher Chaney.
Image via turner.comIn 2012, GQ ran an in-depth profile of Christopher Chaney, the man who received the 10-year prison sentence after stealing photos of actresses. He found multiple racy ones of Scarlett Johansson, who “tearfully” testified at his trial. The GQ article delved into the “murky territory of the celebrity-skin underworld,” and detailed the huge, high-stakes amounts of money involved with stolen nude photos and videos of stars posted online.
washingtonpost.com“Even without permission, less scrupulous publishers will test their luck, uploading the pictures to rack up page views, then taking them down if they’re served by lawyers,” the story said. “Between ad revenues and new subscriptions, a single photo can bring in as much as $50,000 a day.”
cnn.comMeanwhile, the leak has seen the Internet go into overdrive as fans and critics took to Twitter to express their opinion:
Just remember that somewhere, this poor woman is probably crying in her house, privacy compromised, devastated. #JenniferLawrence #justice
— AJM. (@YouMustBeAnna) August 31, 2014
I just hope to heck this doesn't ruin this amazingly talented, grounded young woman's confidence, & thus career. #JenniferLawrence
— Katie (@SciPhiKat) August 31, 2014
If that were your Mum or Sister, their private life plastered across the world, would you be retweeting and joking then!!? #JenniferLawrence
— Arthur Dent (@TurnerTantrum) August 31, 2014
I'm disgusted by all the guys tweeting about Jennifer Lawrence's private life! What if it was your sister? #AllMenCan pic.twitter.com/2uHQ2tJNgO
— Matthew Dominguez (@Matt_Dominguez) August 31, 2014
Just saw this leaked photo of Jennifer Lawrence. Can't see what all the fuss is about #JenniferLawrence #leakedphotos pic.twitter.com/sMq8VUcEIX
— Stuart Elliott (@ironbalsmcginty) August 31, 2014
Jen Lawrence is beautiful. The human body isn't anything to be ashamed about. It's pervs that leak private photos that should be ashamed.
— Lily Greenslade (@Lily_is_back) August 31, 2014