Could posting leaked nude photos of celebrities become a Labor Day weekend tradition? It’s an interesting way to begin September, and it certainly takes your mind off all those arduous back to school errands you need to organize. After a hacker allegedly pillaged the iCloud accounts of famous and semi-famous people, Hollywood publicists and spokespeople have been busy issuing denials about the authenticity of photos and threatening lawsuits. Victoria Justice denied on Twitter that the image is of her. “These so called nudes of me are FAKE. Let me nip this in the bud right now. *pun intended*.” Meanwhile Mary-Elizabeth Winstead admitted the photos of her were real and taken “with my husband years ago in the privacy of our home,” and “knowing those photos were deleted long ago, I can only imagine the creepy effort that went into this.” (Lesson: ‘deleted’ doesn’t really mean ‘deleted’).
The most high-profile name on the list is X-Men and Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence. A spokesman issued the following: “This is a flagrant violation of privacy. The authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence.” (read: okay, we admit it, yeah, the photo is of her, but you’re a bad person for looking at it.) Considering all the Hollywood talent on the list, those of a cynical bent may think the timing of the leak is rather propitious, what with the fall TV season about to begin. While this has been a valuable lesson for all about Internet security and privacy, perhaps the important takeaway from the weekend’s events is this: if you insist on having yourself photographed naked, be sensible and keep the evidence somewhere safe. Like a locked drawer, not some vague vaporous notion in the ether.
