Celebrity nude photo hacking scandal: Kate Upton hits out at 'illegal' invasion of her privacy

Kate Upton was one of over 100 females celebrities targeted by 4Chan hackers

Model Kate Upton poses for the Express & Kate Upton Campaign Launch Event on July 8, 2014 in New York City (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Express)

Model and actress Kate Upton has spoken out about being one of over 100 female stars to fall victim to a hacking scandal last year, which saw intimate photos of her spread across the internet overnight.

The former swimsuit model, who has broken the mold to appear on the cover of Vogue, told the ES Magazine that the ordeal was “very difficult”.

“It’s an invasion of my privacy and it’s not OK. It’s illegal. People don’t have a right to look at those photos or judge them,” she said.

Upton also revealed that as fame takes its toll and she fights to retain her privacy: “I fantasise about deleting my social media accounts. But I can’t.”

The 22-year-old was one of over 100 celebrities to have been targeted in the scandal last summer.

Others affected by 4chan hackers included Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, Mary Kate Olsen, Cara Delevingne, Kate Bosworth, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Kirsten Dunst and Kaley Cuoco.

Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence was one of the most high profile victims of the scandal, in what her publicist called “a flagrant violation of privacy” at the time.

It took the 24-year-old months to respond herself. In an interview with Vanity Fair she admitted “I was just so afraid. I didn’t know how this would affect my career.”

”Just because I’m a public figure, just because I’m an actress, does not mean that I asked for this.

“It’s my body, and it should be my choice, and the fact that it is not my choice is absolutely disgusting. I can’t believe that we even live in that kind of world,” she said.

The FBI and Apple have both launched investigations into the apparent widespread invasion of personal accounts thought to be connected to the iCloud service.