Where on the social ladder is it okay for people to disrespect your privacy? Privacy is something everyone is entitled to, no matter who you are or what you do for a living.

Recently, in the news and all over the Internet, there have been nude photos leaked of many Hollywood starlets, including Jennifer Lawrence, Ariana Grande and Victoria Justice. The images were said to have been hacked from their personal iCloud accounts on their phones and have spread over many Internet forums like 4Chan and Reddit. I, for one, cannot think of anything more mortifying for a young woman than to be unwillingly exposed. It is one thing if you make the conscious decision to publicize adult images of yourself, but to have them on a personal device and then have them stolen is unthinkable. My heart goes out to these women.

They are not the first female stars who have had personal images shown on a public forum. Back in 2012, Mila Kunis had her online account hacked and the person responsible is currently serving 10 years in prison. This invasion of privacy is a crime and the perpetrator deserves that kind of severity of a punishment.     

I have been online for the past week monitoring what people have been saying about such things and the comments people make are so appalling. They range from people who say that they deserve it and it’s a cost of being famous, and then there are people who do a complete 180 degree turn and say that they feel sorry for the poor girls. I found it interesting that most of the people who commented that they shouldn’t have taken the photographs in the first place, and that it was their fault for getting hacked, were men.

At the end of the day, these women didn’t post those pictures online. The posting of these photos was the result of someone stealing their personal information, and hacking into their accounts. The fact that people can say that it is justified because they are famous is disgusting. This sort of attention can put these women in an unfavorable light for future jobs and tarnishes what might otherwise be a stunning reputation. This is an embarrassment that no one should have to deal with -- and it isn’t about being ashamed of your body, it's about other people respecting your privacy. 

So, please, do these starlets a favor, and don’t look at the photos! Don’t share them or like them on these forums, because even though you didn’t post them, you are still validating the person who did. If your own phone isn’t private, what is?