Following the leak of topless outtakes from her 2016 GQ photoshoot, Iggy Azalea has vowed to press charges.
In a statement released yesterday, the rapper vowed to find out the source of the leak and press criminal charges, saying that she intended to hold someone accountable for the incident.
The topless photos, taken during a photoshoot for GQ Australia magazine in 2016, were leaked online over the weekend. Some of the officially approved photos from the photoshoot can be viewed on GQ’s website, but the topless photos leaked over the weekend were never intended for publication.
Soon after the topless photos were leaked online, Azalea’s name began trending on Twitter with thousands of Twitter and Instagram users sharing the photos and making crude and demeaning comments targeted at the 28-year-old Australian rapper.
Azalea was forced to deactivate her Instagram and Twitter profiles following the deluge of inappropriate comments targeted at her.
In a statement she released after deactivating her accounts, Azalea acknowledged that the photos were outtake shots from her 2016 GQ Australia photoshoot, but insisted that she did not give anyone permission to release them.
https://twitter.com/Pop_Alarms/status/1133137211560382466
https://twitter.com/IggyData/status/1133213075782426625
She added that she had felt confident to take the photos with a reputable magazine like GQ because she knew that lots of other “high profile” women had done similar topless shoots and that the photos were never released. She said that after being given full assurance that they would never be released she had not expected that any of the people who worked on the shoot would keep them.
“There was no reason for anyone to have kept the outtakes from the shoot,” she wrote. “I’m surprised and angry that they were not immediately deleted after the final images were selected.”
She added that she felt “blindsided, embarrassed, violated and angry” about the leaks and the demeaning comments on social media.
“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,” she wrote. “The outright wicked things people say is overwhelming and makes me feel like throwing up. If you’ve ever been humiliated before in front of family and those you care about, maybe you can relate to what I’m going through.”
“I fully intend on finding out where the leak originated from and pressing criminal charges in regards to this,” she continued. “It’s important to me that someone actually be held accountable for their actions & the way it impacts my life.”
Meanwhile, the photographer who took the photos for GQ in 2016 has been identified as Nino Muñoz. He issued a statement on Instagram yesterday, saying that the photos were stolen from him and published without his permission.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx-1sJYBm5d/
“My heart goes out to anyone this situation has affected. I’m utterly outraged and will not rest until justice is served,” part of the statement said.