Iggy Azalea’s fans have started the hashtag “RespectIggy” after her topless photos from a shoot were leaked online.
The Australian rapper, who has deactivated her social media accounts, said she has been left “violated” after the images from a 2016 GQ magazine photo shoot were circulated online.
Azalea released a lengthy Twitter statement telling fans she “never consented to taking topless pictures for potential release, period.”
She said she does not understand the “reason for anyone to have kept the outtakes from the shoot,” saying she has been left feeling “blindsided, embarrassed, violated, angry, sad and a million other things.”
Fans rallied around Azalea, with one demanding people“respect her body, respect her choices, respect her feelings, RESPECT HER. #RespectIggy.”
Another tweeted: “#RespectIggy YALL DISGUSTING AF. How can you make someone’s body a joke when you know that is a LEAKED photoshoot wtf yall sick af. Iggy I hope you are okay, you don’t deserve this princess, I love you Iggy @IGGYAZALEA.”
A third posted: “Nobody should ever have their privacy violated, made fun of by thousands, and be humiliated on social media. It’s honestly disgusting that people think it’s okay to do these type of things.”
Azalea described the leak as a “nuclear bomb that explodes and not only destroys you emotionally, but leaves a path of destruction in your personal life, affecting your relationships and people who matter most.”
She said she has been left “disturbed” by the comments from “men in particular” who have been “sharing their thoughts and fantasies” about her body. She is “fully intending on finding out where the leak originated from and pressing criminal charges.”
Azalea finished: “I don’t feel there is any where I can retreat to or that I have a ‘happy place’ I can wait until it all blows over.
“I have seen some really viscious s*** written in the last 24 hours and it is too much for me to handle. For now it’s best to keep my accounts deactivated. Please be kinder to one another.”
Photographer Nino Munoz who shot Azalea for GQ released a statement, saying he has been left “outraged and saddened to find out that images of mine were stolen and published without my permission.”
He wrote: “My heart goes out to anyone this situation has affected. I’m utterly outraged and will not rest until justice is served.”
