Nude hacking joke hits raw nerve
British comedian Ricky Gervais has found himself under attack after cracking a joke about the celebrity nude photo hacking story.
Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence, Ariana Grande, Kate Upton, Kirsten Dunst and Aussie actress Teresa Palmer are among a slew of celebrities whose nude photos have been leaked online by a hacker.
The FBI is now investigating the incidents, while lawyers for both Lawrence and Sports Illustrated bombshell Upton have threatened to prosecute anyone who posts the stolen snaps on the internet.
Gervais offered up his thoughts about the Hollywood scandal in a post on Twitter , writing: "Celebrities, make it harder for hackers to get nude pics of you from your computer by not putting nude pics of yourself on your computer."
However his attempt to make light of the situation only angered followers, with many taking aim at Gervais for appearing to blame the victims for the leak.
The offensive post has since been deleted but Gervais fired back at his detractors by making it clear he was not condoning the hacking.
In a series of follow-up tweets, he wrote: "Making a joke about a thing doesn't mean you condone that thing.
"Of course the hackers are 100% to blame but you can still makes jokes about it. Jokes don't portray your true serious feelings on a subject.
"It's more important to spend your energy trying to stop actual bad things than to run around trying to stop jokes about bad things."
Attempting to draw a line under the controversy, he then concluded with the message: "Make jokes, not war."
Meanwhile, Harry Potter star Emma Watson and actress Patricia Arquette have followed in Lena Dunham's footsteps by condemning the hacker online and urging fans not to view the stolen snaps.
"Even worse than seeing women's privacy violated on social media is reading the accompanying comments that show such a lack of empathy," Watson tweeted.
Arquette tweeted: "Every time someone opens a stolen intimate nude photo of anyone. They are becoming a sexual molester. Participating in a group molestation. Please explain why it is alright to look at someones private stolen intimate images?"
