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Hope Solo on naked 4Chan photo leak: 'This act goes beyond the bounds of human decency'

'It is extremely sad and unfortunate that the rights of so many women were violated by the unauthorized release,' she wrote

Jenn Selby
Thursday 25 September 2014 03:20 EDT
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The US Soccer star and two-time Olympic gold medallist was a victim of the 4Chan photo hacking scandal
The US Soccer star and two-time Olympic gold medallist was a victim of the 4Chan photo hacking scandal

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Hope Solo has spoken about the violation of her rights to privacy, after becoming one of the latest victims of the nude photo hacking scandal orchestrated by 4Chan.

The US Soccer star and two-time Olympic gold medallist posted a message on Facebook, following the publication of a number of intimate images, purportedly of her, online over the weekend.

"It is extremely sad and unfortunate that the rights of so many women were violated by the unauthorized release of private photographs," she wrote.

"This act goes beyond the bounds of human decency and, as such, I stand united with all the women affected and am exploring every option to protect my privacy."

"And, once all the facts come to light and the legal process is concluded, I am confident that I will be fully exonerated."

Her comments come amid a second wave of naked images, thought to depict female stars including Kim Kardashian and Rihanna, emerged online.

The actresses Vanessa Hudgens and Aubrey Plaza, designer and former child star Mary-Kate Olsen, and US soccer player Hope Solo are reportedly among those apparently vicitimised.

There were also new nude pictures purportedly of Jennifer Lawrence.

Earlier this month, over 100 household names were the target of online thieves, who stole scores of naked photographs andintimate videos and posted them on the website 4Chan.

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

The original list had also included Olsen and Hudgens, as well as Ariana Grande, Jessica Brown Findlay, Mary E Winstead, Mary E Winstead, Cara Delevingne, Kate Bosworth, Selena Gomez, Kate Upton, Kirsten Dunst and Kaley Cuoco.

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

A spokesperson for Lawrence said at the time: "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 both said that the pictures were fake, although Lawrence’s spokesperson verified their authenticity.

Representatives for Upton said they were "looking into" the authenticity of the intimate images.

Ricky Gervais went on a back tracking spree on the social media site after he was criticised for 'victim blaming', while Emma Watson also took to Twitter to voice her condemnation of the breach.

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