Emma Watson and Amanda Seyfried Plan Legal Action against Nude Photo Leakers

Summary: Emma Watson and Amanda Seyfried’s attorneys have demanded websites remove their stolen nude photographs.

A group or individual leaked nude photos of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, and those stars are fighting back.

Lawyers for Emma Watson (Harry Potter, Beauty and the Beast) and Amanda Seyfried (Mean Girls) confirmed that the salacious published pics were authentic and had been stolen. The lawyers said that they would pursue legal action against websites who posted the photos.

One such website was Celebrity Jihad. Seyfried’s legal team sent them a letter, stating that the website had committed copyright infringement and a violation of privacy.

“As you acknowledge on your website, these photos are believed to have been leaked, i.e. wrongfully obtained by a third party or parties without Ms. Seyfried’s knowledge or consent,” the letter to Celebrity Jihad said.

Watson’s photos also appeared on Celebrity Jihad, a website known to post celebrity nudes both real and altered. The photos showed Watson’s nipples and were taken during a professional wardrobe fitting by a stylist.

Seyfried’s photos, on the other hand, were taken during intimate moments with an ex-boyfriend. In the state of California, sexual photographs published by one party in order to shame the second party is deemed “revenge porn” and is a misdemeanor. At this time, it is unclear whether or not Seyfried’s former lover is involved with the leak.

So far the photo thieves have not been identified, and who to blame is difficult because celebrities are especially targetted by hackers. For instance, in 2014, hackers phished multiple celebrities such as Kate Upton and Jennifer Lawrence and gained access to their private accounts. Numerous stolen nude photos were uploaded as part of a scandal known as “Celebgate,” and last year the perpetrators were finally brought to court.