Minnesota native and Olympic ski champion Lindsey Vonn is branding as a "despicable invasion of privacy" the stealing and leaking online of nude photos of her by someone who hacked her cellphone.
The hacker also leaked at least one old private photo of Vonn's ex-boyfriend Tiger Woods, a lawyer representing both of them in this incident told the Star Tribune.
In a statement issued Tuesday, a spokesman for Vonn said, "It is an outrageous and despicable invasion of privacy for anyone to steal and illegally publish private, intimate photos. Lindsey will take all necessary and appropriate legal action to protect and enforce her rights and interests.
"She believes the individuals responsible for hacking her private photos, as well as the websites that encourage this detestable conduct, should be prosecuted to the fullest extent under the law."
Attorney Michael Holtz, acting on behalf of Vonn and Woods, said, "We have issued takedown notices to various websites who have posted the illegally hacked photos of our clients. Almost all sites have complied or will comply with our demand."
Holtz said that if any sites persist in keeping the photos online, "we will pursue legal action against them swiftly and vigorously."
Celeb Jihad not only posted the revealing photos of Vonn and Woods but also photos of stars Miley Cyrus, Kristen Stewart and Stella Maxwell, according to TMZ, a celebrity news site.
The 32-year-old Vonn, who grew up in the Twin Cities and trained on slopes in the area, and the 41-year-old Woods had been a couple for about three years until spring 2015.
Holtz said he and his clients don't know who leaked these photos, "but considering this is a widespread event, it appears to be a situation like the Fappening in 2014, where one or more individuals may have hacked numerous photos and videos of multiple celebrities from the cloud."
