Late last week, naked pictures were leaked onto the internet of countless celebrities including Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. The incident was reportedly due to a still unknown individual hacking into Apple’s iCloud system.
According to various sources, not all of the photos obtained in the leak were X-rated, but they were all private property that was stolen from the cell phones of the following allegedly shown celebrities: Lawrence, Upton, Winstead, McKayla Maroney, Ariana Grande, Victoria Justice, Rihanna, Keke Palmer, Aubrey Plaza, Avril Lavigne, Cat Deeley, Farrah Abraham, Gabrielle Union, Hayden Panettiere, Hope Solo, Hillary Duff, Jenny McCarthy, Kate Bosworth, Kim Kardashian, Kirsten Dunst, Mary Kate Olsen, Meagan Good, Sarah Schneider, Becca Tobin, Krysten Ritter, Selena Gomez, Teresa Palmer, Vanessa Hudgens, Winona Ryder, and Dave Franco.
Some of stars admitted to the photos being legitimate, while others like Grande and Justice (who later changed her statement) adamantly denied that they were fake.
A representative for Jennifer Lawrence told E News, “This is a flagrant violation of privacy. The authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence.”
Kate Upton’s lawyer also spoke out on the behalf of the Sports Illustrated model, “This is obviously an outrageous violation of our client Kate Upton’s privacy. We intend to pursue anyone disseminating or duplicating these illegally obtained images to the fullest extent possible.”
Being that this has been one of the biggest and most scandalous celebrity leaks of all time, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has recently gotten involved in the investigation to locate the culprit.
In a statement to NBC News, the FBI said, “The FBI is aware of the allegations concerning computer intrusions and the unlawful release of material involving high profile individuals and is addressing the matter.”
Apple said that they are also investigating the leak in their system, and that they take the issue of privacy very seriously as well.
So, how close to home does this issue hit for us?
It’s often hard to relate closely to celebrities. They live totally different lives than we do and in many ways they are strangers to us, In cases like this it goes to show that regardless of how well known you are or how much money you have, everyone is human. We all deserve privacy…especially when it comes to intimate and private photos.
Before we hate on these women for taking the now public photos, we do need to realize a few things. These photos were not intentionally leaked. They were meant to be private and are now essentially stolen property. They are in no way making a profit from these pictures and chances are that most of us know people who have taken or even sent private photos. What makes stars so different?
The bottom line is we need to be extremely careful of our privacy and what we share. Technology isn’t always trustworthy and if you wouldn’t want the world to see it, don’t send it. Unfortunately for the celebrities involved, they had to learn this lesson the hard way. Lucky for us, we don’t have to.