Entertainment

Demi Lovato Responds To A Private Photo Being Leaked

by Mary Kate McGrath
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

In the past few years, many female celebrities have had their privacy attacked online. In January 2016, the issue of internet privacy made national headlines when the personal pictures of several female celebrities were hacked and published online without permission. The incident started an important conversation about online privacy and victim blaming, but it wasn't the last crime of its sort. Recently, more famous women faced private photos being leaked, and on Tuesday, Demi Lovato spoke out about a personal photo of herself being shared online in a series of tweets.

According to The Sun, the leaked photo circulated on pornography sites. Without undercutting the seriousness of the a private photo, Lovato made it clear that she isn't phased by the photo of her going public. On Tuesday, the star took to Twitter to address fans and media outlets alike. Instead of anger, she responded by playing down the incident in a couple of tweets that showed she was laughing it off.

Lovato also took this opportunity to stress that she has the full right to appear nude if that's how she wants to present her body. While Lovato's privacy was violated and that's the focus here, it's important to also stop trolls who are faulting the singer for the choices she's made about her body.

However, while Lovato's response is funny and casual, the issue of photo hacking can't always be shrugged off as easily. Instances of photo hacking are attacks on women, and it is an issue legal advocates are trying to address more broadly in the United States. For example, the Cyber Civil Rights initiative aims to stop these kinds of online abuse with legal action, and attorneys like Carrie Goldberg defend women against hackers in court. Hopefully in the future there will be more ways to protect the privacy of women online, even celebrities, and fewer will have to respond to such instances.

Lovato's response is, of course, trademark Demi. Her confidence is unmovable, not by hackers or anyone else.