Celebrity Nude Photo Hacking Scandal 2014: Gabrielle Union Speaks Out, Says This Crime 'Takes Your Choice Away' [VIDEO]
Back in August the hacking and posting of nude celebrity photos rocked Hollywood, generating a larger discussion of privacy and sex crimes in the digital age.
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Actress Gabrielle Union happened to be celebrating her marriage to Dwayne Wade when she first heard of the scandal.
"The day after my wedding, we were all sitting around, rehashing the best day of my life, and I got a text from my team," explained Union in The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday.
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When the actress found out that she was amount the exploited women, she felt violated. "I just didn't know what to do," she admitted. "I felt I had given so much of myself, but I had saved a little bit for myself and for my husband, and they had taken that from me."
Union received support from her husband and while she'd been worried about telling her mother, the star found that her mother was equally supportive. Nonetheless, Union maintains that this is more than just a media scandal.
"I didn't do anything wrong…" she declared. "What you do with your own body is your choice. Period. There's no gray matter there. And when someone takes your choice away and your power away over your own body, it's a crime. Period. A hacking scandal? We're lessening it, making it more palatable for mass consumption, but it's a crime."
Union believes that women should challenge the notion that exploitation is justified when it involves women or celebrities. "I want you all to be the women who did something about it," she said to all women moving forward. "The woman who didn't take it lying down, the women who still accomplished all her goals. That is a much better story to tell."
The private photographs of over 100 female celebrities were stolen during the "scandal," including those of Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting and Jenny McCarthy. Many have voiced their opinion on the subject, claiming that the invasion of privacy should result in a change in law.
