Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

4Chan naked photos leak: Celebrity Twitter reactions to the mass breach of privacy

Over 100 household names have been the target of online thieves, who have stolen scores of naked photographs and intimate videos

Jenn Selby
Thursday 04 September 2014 16:54 BST
Comments
Jennifer Lawrence wore Dior and pulled it off perfectly
Jennifer Lawrence wore Dior and pulled it off perfectly (Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

In case you’ve been hiding under a very strong iCloud password over the last couple of days, you might have heard about one of the biggest celebrity hacks of all time.

Over 100 household names have been the target of online thieves, who have stolen scores of naked photographs and intimate videos and posted them on the website 4Chan.

Several of the images – in particular, two of Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence – quickly circulated on Twitter.

Among others the list includes Ariana Grande, Jessica Brown Findlay, Mary E Winstead, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, Mary Kate Olsen, Mary E Winstead, Cara Delevingne, Kate Bosworth, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Kate Upton, Kirsten Dunst and Kaley Cuoco.

The FBI and Apple are both conducting investigations into the apparent widespread invasion personal accounts thought to be connected to the iCloud service.

The anonymous hacker also admitted that they were unhappy with how much money he or she has made from circulating the stolen photographs via 4Chan.

Reactions from not only the celebrities presumed to be on the master list but also those shocked by the actions of users who have shared the intimate images have varied. While some laughed off speculation that the photographs of them were genuine, others condemned the hackers as “sex offenders” and “molesters” and said they felt violated by the leak.

Here’s a round-up of who’s said what thus far:

Emma Watson also took to Twitter to voice her condemnation of the breach.

A spokesperson for Jennifer Lawrence, the most high-profile actress to be hacked, said: “This is a flagrant violation of privacy. The authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence.”

Justice and Grande have both said that the pictures are fake, although Lawrence’s spokesperson verified their authenticity.

Meanwhile, representatives for Upton said they were “looking into” the authenticity of the indecent images.

Eva Longoria went one step further by sensationally claiming that an Apple store worker had accessed her personal details without her permission to find out how to get in touch with her.

Jill Scott quickly trended on Twitter after she admitted the first of her leaked images was an authentic snap taken to chart her weightloss.

Finally, Fifty Shades of Grey actor Jamie Dornan branded the actions of hackers "disgusting".

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in