14 DAY TRIAL // Hope Solo is the 33-year-old goalkeeper of the United States soccer team, and she was one of the victims hardest hit in the recent hacking scandal that left so many female celebrities exposed on the Internet. Just like Jennifer Lawrence, Hope was present in both rounds of the Celebgate scandal leaks.
The athlete has opened up about the incident for the first time since the photos emerged, and it seems that she's not claiming that the photos are fake. She's acknowledging that the photos are real but she's blasting the hackers for their actions.
Hope Solo opens up about those intimate leaked photos, claims she's taking all necessary measures to protect her privacy
In a post on her Facebook page, Hope wrote that “It is extremely sad and unfortunate that the rights of so many women were violated by the unauthorized release of private photographs. This act goes beyond the bounds of human decency and, as such, I stand united with all the women affected and am exploring every option to protect my privacy.”
Her position was met with supporting messages by fans and followers who wished her the best and told her to stay strong, deploring the current state of online security and the way celebrity women were being treated.
The goalkeeper also addresses her domestic violence charges
Solo also chose to address the domestic violence charges that have been brought against her and has said that “While I understand that the public desires more information regarding the allegations against me, I continue to maintain my innocence against these charges.”
She is referring to the charges brought up against her for an incident that took place in June. At the time, she was accused of attacking her sister and nephew at their house in Washington. She has since pleaded not guilty and has also apologized for the incident.
Others who have been affected in this second leak are Jenny McCarthy, Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Kim Kardashian, Rihanna, Hayden Panettiere, Vanessa Hudgens, Avril Lavigne and several others. The hackers are now threatening to release compromising photos of Emma Watson, following her gender-equality speech she has recently given.
The FBI launched an investigation into the matter and is reportedly close to discovering the source of the leaks. It is believed that they have come from just one person who used anonymous image-sharing boards such as 4Chan and Reddit to spread the photos. From there, they soon flooded over on the rest of the Internet, despite the best efforts of those depicted in the photos to ban the publication.