Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Celebrity nude photo hacking scandal: Kate Upton hits out at 'illegal' invasion of her privacy

Kate Upton was one of over 100 females celebrities targeted by 4Chan hackers

Kashmira Gander
Wednesday 22 April 2015 21:50 BST
Comments
Model Kate Upton poses for the Express & Kate Upton Campaign Launch Event on July 8, 2014 in New York City
Model Kate Upton poses for the Express & Kate Upton Campaign Launch Event on July 8, 2014 in New York City (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Express)

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.

Model and actress Kate Upton has spoken out about being one of over 100 female stars to fall victim to a hacking scandal last year, which saw intimate photos of her spread across the internet overnight.

The former swimsuit model, who has broken the mold to appear on the cover of Vogue, told the ES Magazine that the ordeal was “very difficult”.

“It’s an invasion of my privacy and it’s not OK. It’s illegal. People don’t have a right to look at those photos or judge them,” she said.

Upton also revealed that as fame takes its toll and she fights to retain her privacy: “I fantasise about deleting my social media accounts. But I can’t.”

The 22-year-old was one of over 100 celebrities to have been targeted in the scandal last summer.

Others affected by 4chan hackers included Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, Mary Kate Olsen, Cara Delevingne, Kate Bosworth, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Kirsten Dunst and Kaley Cuoco.

Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence was one of the most high profile victims of the scandal, in what her publicist called “a flagrant violation of privacy” at the time.

It took the 24-year-old months to respond herself. In an interview with Vanity Fair she admitted “I was just so afraid. I didn’t know how this would affect my career.”

”Just because I’m a public figure, just because I’m an actress, does not mean that I asked for this.

“It’s my body, and it should be my choice, and the fact that it is not my choice is absolutely disgusting. I can’t believe that we even live in that kind of world,” she said.

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

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