Celebrity Leaked Photos 2014: Russian Hacker Denies Allegations, Says 'Celebrities Released [Photos] Themselves... For PR Purposes' [VIDEO]
The man behind the infamous celebrity nude photo hackings may have finally been revealed.
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Sergei Kholokovsky, a man from the southern Russian city of Samara, is believed to be the man behind the scandal. He denies leaking the photos from Apple's iCloud system, but holds that the images were already available online. Regardless, he claims there is nothing wrong with sharing the photos.
"No, no [I don't think it is bad]. I think it is because the worldview has changed about it. All people think it's OK, at least all my friends think so," he told Britain's Daily Mail Newspaper, according to an Oct. 14 report by The Moscow Times.
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He may think sharing the images is OK, but the dozens of celebrities affected by the hackings disagree. Many of them are calling this scandal a "sex crime," and are threatening to pursue legal action.
Kholokovsky continued with the interview, saying he believes the celebrities released these photos themselves as a public relations ploy.
"If you would like to know my opinion where these pictures are coming from, I think those celebrities release them themselves, for PR purposes," he said.
British newspaper The Sun revealed Kholokovsky's identity on Sunday after ongoing investigations.
He allegedly stole hundreds of nude photos off about 100 celebrities' private iCloud accounts, and posted them on websites like Reddit and 4chan, though he denies the claims. Prominent celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence, Kim Kardashian, Kate Upton and Gabrielle Union, have been affected, and many have taken legal action.