# The Internet is abuzz right now with a massive celebrity cellphone hack. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 1, 2014, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136 "2014-09-01T09:36:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136/101 "2014-09-02T19:44:40Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > OTOH, Olivia Munn’s content may tend to stick in people’s heads for a bit. I found Olivia Munn’s first set of leaked cell phone pics from a couple years ago more scandalous than this current deal, and by a decent margin. I’m not even convinced the photo of her in this leak is actually her. (There’s no head.) > [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > Yeah, thats the one in particular im talking about. I havent watched them all. It was the video where the girl is wanting to sniff the guys ass that to me is a career destroying one. I didnt think it particularly endearing, amusing or loving(I guess to find them endearing you have to watch them all in order :)). The next time this lady is up for the role of Ophelia at the RSC she has just found it will be all the more difficult to get the part. I dont think this is an actress at the very top of the profession. > > Being a slut can be a career enhancing move, as can being a druggie or a bitch. I have no absolute proof that ass sniffing on video ruins a career, but I think it may. I find your closing paragraph offensive. There is nothing slutty about her in either her videos or her pictures. In fact, there’s nothing slutty in any of these leaks, for any of the celebrities. Goofing around in bed with your boyfriend is the polar opposite of slutty. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136/102 "2014-09-02T19:50:51Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Private selfies \<\> bank account info. Perhaps it’s not me who doesn’t understand what “strawman” means. No shit they’re not exactly the same. But both are private information that are assumed by the owner to be secure, and either getting hacked and distributed to the public is a violation of privacy. Either can have dire consequences, depending on the circumstances. Don’t know if you’re being willfully obtuse on this or not. > [@EllisDee](#): > > Okay, first off, peeping toms didn’t take these photos. The celebrities took these photos of themselves. Again, no shit. I was referring to paparazzi photos as those being taken by peeping toms. Apologies if I wasn’t clear. > [@EllisDee](#): > > Being a consumer of paparazzi culture involves the same responsibility as viewing these photos. In other words, I judge people who view these photos with the same feeling as I judge people who read Star magazine or TMZ. Neither is more contemptible than the other, though it goes without saying that neither are worthy of praise, either. > > I’d put phone/cloud hacks on the same level as wardrobe malfunctions. Both are embarrassing, both can be mitigated somewhat through personal responsibility, and it’s just the culture we live in that people will want to see both. Was everyone who wanted to see Janet Jackson’s “nipple gate” for themselves a disgusting, criminal peeping tom? Hardly. > > What I’m getting from you is that everyone who looks at these pictures is a disgusting, criminal peeping tom. Which is a patently absurd position, IMO. I’ll agree that the people who actually stole the photos are disgusting criminals, for sure. But the people who just want to see them? Nope. No more than the person who reads TMZ. Then we just fundamentally disagree. Let me ask you this: if one of your neighbors told you they’d hacked into another neighbor’s phone and had nude pictures of said neighbor (or a friend had pics of another friend; whatever brings it closer to home), would you look? Or would you consider it creepy? If so, why do you think it’s OK to do with celebrities? If not, then again: we disagree, because it is creepy. And celebrity gossip, if the information is obtained through hacking, is also a violation of privacy that you (the general “you”) should feel bad about consuming. I’m not even saying I’ve never read any celebrity gossip; I just don’t try to minimize my role in its sleaziness - if there was no demand, there’d be no supply. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136/103 "2014-09-02T19:52:26Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > And I should point out that downloading and discussing these pics is, indeed, a little skeevy (hacking them in the first place was monstrous). You know how people say you shouldn’t buy veal or foie gras because doing so creates the market that drives cruelty towards animals? Same idea. (I’m including myself in this judgment, by the way.) That’s fair. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136/104 "2014-09-02T19:56:54Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I found Olivia Munn’s first set of leaked cell phone pics from a couple years ago more scandalous than this current deal, and by a decent margin. I’m not even convinced the photo of her in this leak is actually her. (There’s no head.) > > I find your closing paragraph offensive. There is nothing slutty about her in either her videos or her pictures. In fact, there’s nothing slutty in any of these leaks, for any of the celebrities. > > Goofing around in bed with your boyfriend is the polar opposite of slutty. I welcome that fact you find my post offensive. Please note I did not call the actions of this woman slutty. I used that word(and others) to describe many a female celebrity who have been all these things and succeeded. In fact they have added to the mystique of certain female celebrities - Madonna, Joan Collins, Amy Winehouse(for a period). You really were too eager to find offense in my post. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136/105 "2014-09-02T19:59:04Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > No shit they’re not exactly the same. But both are private information that are assumed by the owner to be secure, and either getting hacked and distributed to the public is a violation of privacy. Either can have dire consequences, depending on the circumstances. Don’t know if you’re being willfully obtuse on this or not. It’s okay, you made a strawman argument. Nobody’s perfect. I’ve certainly made my share of them. If you’re truly saying you don’t see any difference between “selfies” and “bank account info”, then I think it’s you who are being deliberately obtuse. > [@](#): > > Let me ask you this: if one of your neighbors told you they’d hacked into another neighbor’s phone and had nude pictures of said neighbor (or a friend had pics of another friend; whatever brings it closer to home), would you look? Or would you consider it creepy? “Of course” to both. Of course I’d look, and of course it’s creepy. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136/106 "2014-09-02T20:01:12Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > I welcome that fact you find my post offensive. > > Please note I did not call the actions of this woman slutty. I used that word(and others) to describe many a female celebrity who have been all these things and succeeded. In fact they have added to the mystique of certain female celebrities - Madonna, Joan Collins, Amy Winehouse(for a period). You really were too eager to find offense in my post. I actually misread that bit. I read it as: “Being a slut can be a career _destroying_ move, as can being a druggie or a bitch. I have no absolute proof that ass sniffing on video ruins a career, but I think it may.” Rereading it properly, I find no offense in what you actually said. Hopefully my misreading helps explain my reaction. (I read it as a summation of how you felt about her videos. I was actually a bit confused, thinking “I don’t remember drug use or bitchiness in her videos…”) ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136/107 "2014-09-02T20:03:22Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > I welcome that fact you find my post offensive. > > Please note I did not call the actions of this woman slutty. I used that words(and others) to describe many a female celebrity who have been all these things and succeeded. In fact they have added to the mystique of certain female celebrities - Madonna, Joan Collins, Amy Winehouse(for a period). You really weretoo eagerto look for offense in my post. Now, go a And here’s where I agree with **Ellis Dee**. The fact that you used the terms “slutty” and “bitch” implies a kind of misogyny, and using it in the way you did further implied that’s what you thought of the actions of the women here. Also, “go a” what? Go apple picking? Go apeshit, destroy room? Go airplane plasma kitten? The world needs to know. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136/108 "2014-09-02T20:04:06Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I actually misread that bit. I read it as: > > “Being a slut can be a career _destroying_ move, as can being a druggie or a bitch. I have no absolute proof that ass sniffing on video ruins a career, but I think it may.” > > Rereading it properly, I find no offense in what you actually said. Hopefully my misreading helps explain my reaction. (I read it as a summation of how you felt about her videos. I was actually a bit confused, thinking “I don’t remember drug use or bitchiness in her videos…”) Fair enough. My wording could have been better. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136/109 "2014-09-02T20:12:36Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > It’s okay, you made a strawman argument. Nobody’s perfect. I’ve certainly made my share of them. > > If you’re truly saying you don’t see any difference between “selfies” and “bank account info”, then I think it’s you who are being deliberately obtuse. Again, you’re full of shit on this. Never said there was “no difference”, but you seem to be implying one’s a violation of privacy and one isn’t. Hell, you could even argue releasing nude photos could be more psychologically damaging in many cases - most banks have some form of identity theft protection, and would likely be able to rectify the situation somewhat promptly. It really is coming off like you think people’s bodies don’t deserve the same level of privacy as their finances (which I guess is true, considering you admitted to the fact that you’d look at nude pictures of a neighbor/friend). ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136/110 "2014-09-02T20:13:25Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > meanwhile, in related news - [Mysterious Phony Cell Towers Could Be Intercepting Your Calls](http://www.popsci.com/article/technology/mysterious-phony-cell-towers-could-be-intercepting-your-calls) > > apparently there are cell towers built just to intercept and control phones. I read an article that said the government was working on drones that would double as cell towers to scoop up information from every phone within the “tower’s” location. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136/111 "2014-09-02T20:15:57Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > And here’s where I agree with **Ellis Dee**. The fact that you used the terms “slutty” and “bitch” implies a kind of misogyny, and using it in the way you did further implied that’s what you thought of the actions of the women here. Also, “go a” what? Go apple picking? Go apeshit, destroy room? Go airplane plasma kitten? The world needs to know. MY post decided to post itself before I completed and edited it. Hence the “Now go a” wording at the end. Nevertheless, thank you for pointing it out. Women have often been described by those words. Many women in fact play up to them. I gave examples of some of these women earlier. There was a hint of misogyny in my post I suppose. Thats because we only have past examples to deal with. Past examples in which the world was more misogynystic. Women have been able to battle all these labels, some have done so successfully. No matter how hard you try women will always in part be judged on certain behaviours. How easy it is to bed them _always_ will be one. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136/112 "2014-09-02T20:22:14Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I found Olivia Munn’s first set of leaked cell phone pics from a couple years ago more scandalous than this current deal, and by a decent margin. I’m not even convinced the photo of her in this leak is actually her. (There’s no head.) Oh, I see, the ones with text are from a couple years ago. I didn’t see those until now, thought they were part of the current deluge. Well, she seems to have survived. Good for her. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136/113 "2014-09-02T20:23:51Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > you seem to be implying one’s a violation of privacy and one isn’t. I never said or implied any such thing. A paparazzi photo is an invasion of privacy. Like hacking other people’s selfies, that level of invasion of privacy in no way resembles stealing someone’s bank account information. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136/114 "2014-09-02T21:45:24Z")
Uh huh. I’ve already explained why I think it is. You’ve explained nothing for why you think there’s no equivalence. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136/115 "2014-09-02T22:27:37Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > The pictures don’t even look like her, I can’t imagine it’ll be THAT hard for them to claim “fake” [Apparently it WAS her and she WAS underage.](http://www.tmz.com/2014/09/02/mckayla-maroney-nude-photos-underage-lawyer-letter-porn-sites/) ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136/116 "2014-09-02T23:23:34Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I read an article that said the government was working on drones that would double as cell towers to scoop up information from every phone within the “tower’s” location. How? That seems, not exactly impossible, but extremely improbable. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136/117 "2014-09-02T23:56:50Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > [Apparently it WAS her and she WAS underage.](http://www.tmz.com/2014/09/02/mckayla-maroney-nude-photos-underage-lawyer-letter-porn-sites/) Not necessarily. All we have at this point is Maroney saying she was underage. I don’t want to kick her when she’s down. She is a victim regardless of whether she was seventeen or eighteen when she took these pictures. But there was another incident a year or so ago where a celebrity had some nude photos leaked. And she claimed she was only seventeen when the pictures were taken. (As it turns out, evidence emerged that her claim was false and she was actually over twenty when the pictures were taken.) The result was that the pictures disappeared online. Sites were apparently willing to risk posting illegally obtained pictures but were not willing to post pictures of an underage subject. And I would imagine lawyers took note of this and realized that threatening child pornography charges is a lot more effective than threatening an invasion of privacy lawsuit. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136/118 "2014-09-02T23:58:48Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > [Apparently it WAS her and she WAS underage.](http://www.tmz.com/2014/09/02/mckayla-maroney-nude-photos-underage-lawyer-letter-porn-sites/) I’ll believe she was underage when it is proven. This looks like an attempt to scare servers and sites into removing the pics. Shes also claiming she owns the rights to other pics. Again, she’s attempting to limit the public distribution of them. If it were me I’d be claiming I was underage too. It’s a terrific line of defence. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136/119 "2014-09-03T00:05:24Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Not necessarily. All we have at this point is Maroney saying she was underage. > > I don’t want to kick her when she’s down. She is a victim regardless of whether she was seventeen or eighteen when she took these pictures. > > But there was another incident a year or so ago where a celebrity had some nude photos leaked. And she claimed she was only seventeen when the pictures were taken. (As it turns out, evidence emerged that her claim was false and she was actually over twenty when the pictures were taken.) The result was that the pictures disappeared online. Sites were apparently willing to risk posting illegally obtained pictures but were not willing to post pictures of an underage subject. And I would imagine lawyers took note of this and realized that threatening child pornography charges is a lot more effective than threatening an invasion of privacy lawsuit. Like the old Anthony Weiner “my computer was hacked” excuse. When you are subject to public humiliation victims can lash out in allsorts of ways. Ways that may include telling falsehoods. Now, I dont know how old she was in the pics. However, I never underestimate someones ability to lie when trying to save their own career or reputation. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136/120 "2014-09-03T00:21:31Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > Uh huh. I’ve already explained why I think it is. You’ve explained nothing for why you think there’s no equivalence. Your explanation is simplistic in the extreme. “Both are stealing” doesn’t make them the same thing. If I steal $10 from you, that’s petty theft, a misdemeanor. If I steal your life savings, that’s grand larceny, a felony. See, we in the real world recognize shades of gray, unlike your ridiculously primitive black-and-white worldview. I don’t need to explain why stealing nudie picks and emptying your bank account are two vastly different things. Sane people immediately recognize that the two are not even remotely equivalent. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-internet-is-abuzz-right-now-with-a-massive-celebrity-cellphone-hack/697136.md?page=7)