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'Blindsided, embarrassed, violated': Rapper Iggy Azalea rails against nude photo leak

Australian rapper Iggy Azalea said she felt violated and humiliated after nude photos she thought were deleted were leaked online.

Azalea said she intended to press charges in a statement as she deactivated her Instagram and Twitter accounts.

The award-winning entertainer said the leaked photographs were outtakes shot for a GQ cover in 2016. She was awarded "Woman of the Year" by the Australian magazine.

"I never consented to taking topless pictures for potential release, period," she said in a statement circulated on Twitter.

She said the breach left her feeling "humiliated" and "a ball of negative emotions".

"I feel blindsided, embarrassed, violated, angry, sad, and a million other things," she wrote.

"Not solely because I did not consent to this — but also because of the vile way people have reacted.

"A lot of the comments I see from men in particular … sharing their thoughts and fantasies in regards to my body has honestly disturbed me.

"The outright wicked things people say is overwhelming and makes me feel like throwing up."

The photographer for the GQ shoot, Nino Munoz, said on Instagram he was "utterly outraged and will not rest until justice is served".

"I'm outraged and saddened to find out that images of mine were stolen and published without my permission," he wrote.

"There is currently an investigation underway. Posting these stolen images is illegal and anyone who has done so will be prosecuted."

Azalea said there was no reason for anyone to have kept the outtakes and she was "surprised and angry that they were not immediately deleted after the final images were selected".

"It's like a nuclear bomb that exploded and not only destroys you emotionally, but leaves a path of destruction in your personal life," she wrote.

"I fully intend on finding out where the leak originated from and pressing criminal charges in regards to this.

"It's important to me that someone actually be held accountable for their actions and the way it impacts my life."

GQ Australia editor Michael Christensen said in a statement that he condemned the leak and understood an investigation was underway.

"We were very disappointed to learn that outtakes from a 2016 photo shoot which were not approved or intended for publication appear to have been stolen from the photographer," he said.

It's far from the first high profile leak of nude photographs of a female celebrity — in 2014, explicit photos of Hollywood actresses and models, including Jennifer Lawrence, Rihanna and Kirsten Dunst, were posted online by an unknown hacker, prompting questions about iCloud security, privacy and sex offences.

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