When nude photos of Scarlett Johansson hit the web this week, the actress and her team worked quickly to make sure they were downloaded from sites that had published.
The man behind one of those sites, Nik Richie of TheDirty.com, told E! The news that he felt bad for the actress when the shots hit the net. "I never usually delete the images I get from hackers or others," he said. "When you're a public figure, who is looking for attention in the press and media. But in the case of Scarlett, I felt for her."
The photos include one with Johansson topless and one of her bare butt.
"In this case, images of Scarlett Johansson were definitely an exception. In fact, I was wrong," said Richie, who added: "These images were a little more personal and private. Scarlett photos do not need to escape, she is well established. So this was not a theater release. It was someone hacking into your phone, the theft of their text messages and Internet leaks. "
Richie said it was not so much the fear of legal action by the team that led to his decision Johansson. In fact, in his line of work, cease and desist letters are standard. "When I got to cease and desist from [Johansson's attorney] Marty Singer, I was not scared. I received a cease and desist from it before with other celebrities before," he said.
"It was Marty who motivated me to take things from TheDirty.com. It was the most looked at the pictures, I really thought they were attacked," he continued. "I really felt bad for Scarlett Johansson in the situation, so I thought, 'Let's get, let me be the bigger person for once." "
Johansson is working with the FBI to investigate who cut the phone and released the photos. Fox News reported that the actress had been interviewed by the FBI for months in connection with stolen photos. A number of other celebrities who supposedly was also affected by the hacker, as Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez.
The man behind one of those sites, Nik Richie of TheDirty.com, told E! The news that he felt bad for the actress when the shots hit the net. "I never usually delete the images I get from hackers or others," he said. "When you're a public figure, who is looking for attention in the press and media. But in the case of Scarlett, I felt for her."
The photos include one with Johansson topless and one of her bare butt.
"In this case, images of Scarlett Johansson were definitely an exception. In fact, I was wrong," said Richie, who added: "These images were a little more personal and private. Scarlett photos do not need to escape, she is well established. So this was not a theater release. It was someone hacking into your phone, the theft of their text messages and Internet leaks. "
Richie said it was not so much the fear of legal action by the team that led to his decision Johansson. In fact, in his line of work, cease and desist letters are standard. "When I got to cease and desist from [Johansson's attorney] Marty Singer, I was not scared. I received a cease and desist from it before with other celebrities before," he said.
"It was Marty who motivated me to take things from TheDirty.com. It was the most looked at the pictures, I really thought they were attacked," he continued. "I really felt bad for Scarlett Johansson in the situation, so I thought, 'Let's get, let me be the bigger person for once." "
Johansson is working with the FBI to investigate who cut the phone and released the photos. Fox News reported that the actress had been interviewed by the FBI for months in connection with stolen photos. A number of other celebrities who supposedly was also affected by the hacker, as Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez.