Oscar-winning actress, Jennifer Lawrence, has taken decisive action, following the illegal publication of pictures that reportedly show her naked.
“This is a flagrant violation of privacy,” a representative for the actress said in a statement. “The authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence.”
An anonymous hacker reportedly gained access to private photos on the Hunger Games actress’s mobile phone, and those of 100 others, via Apple’s online storage system iCloud.
The 60-odd pictures of Lawrence in varying stages of undress were then posted on the bulletin board website 4chan.
More than 100 A-list celebrities are alleged to have been targeted, including reality TV star Kim Kardashian, singer Rihanna, models Candice Swanepoel, Cara Delevingne and Kelly Brook, and TV host Cat Deeley.
Others include Kate Upton, Amber Heard, Kate Bosworth, Kirsten Dunst, Mary-Kate Olsen, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Winona Ryder –
The culprit behind the theft of the pictures has not yet been identified or apprehended, but the consequences of such a large-scale hack could be serious.
Winstead, who has starred in films including A Good Day to Die Hard, also acknowledged the pictures were of her.
“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,” she tweeted.
“Knowing those photos were deleted long ago, I can only imagine the creepy effort that went into this. Feeling for everyone who got hacked.”
She later announced that she was going on “an internet break” because of the trolling she had received.
Former Nickelodeon star and singer Victoria Justice said the images claiming to show her naked were not real.
A spokesperson for musician Ariana Grande told BuzzFeed that the images said to be of her, were “completely fake.”
A number of the stars on the list have trended on Twitter after the photos were shared online.
Apple has yet to comment about claims that the person who stole the images obtained them by hacking into iCloud, the remote storage service.
A man was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2012 after stealing and publishing nude pictures of actresses Scarlett Johansson and Mila Kunis.
