14 DAY TRIAL // American gymnast McKayla Maroney, one of the celebrities involved in the major leak scandal that has taken the media by storm, has done a one-eighty after she initially said that her leaked photos were fake. Maroney is now having her lawyers inform anyone who publishes the photos that she was underage at the time they were taken.
TMZ looked into the matter and found out that Maroney, who turned 18 last December, is instructing her lawyers to mention to anyone willing to post or distribute the photos that she was underage at the time they were taken.
This complicates matters somewhat because, as you might well know, distributing explicit materials involving minors is a very serious crime that brings with it serious punishments. Her attorneys have already sent out cease and desist letters to several adult websites which reposted the photos, mentioning the underage factor and demanding that they be taken down immediately.
This is a clear indication that McKayla is now acknowledging that the photos of her are the real deal and not fakes, as she had originally claimed. Other letters sent out by her legal team also point out that Maroney owns the copyright to the leaked photos, and this makes it also a copyright infringement case.
It turns out that most of the websites which received the legal letter chose to take down the leaked photos immediately in order to avoid becoming involved in distributing explicit materials involving minors, a crime the federal government takes very seriously.
Just yesterday, Maroney received harsh online criticism from fans when she claimed that the photos which appeared in the leak and depicted her in her bedroom were fake. Twitter users blasted her for being insincere when it was obvious that they were the real deal.
“It's obviously you, the pictures are 100% real. You just can't deny it, it makes you look stupid and untrustworthy,” said one fan, while another added, “Fake? Really? Even the ones taken in your own bedrooms? Come on... What's the use of denying the obvious?”
Another pointed out that “So the one with you in the mirror is fake? Sorry hun you ain't fooling no one.” McKayla had previously tweeted to the would-be hacker who posted the photos, “the fake photos of me are crazy!! was trying to rise above it all, and not give "the creator" the time of day.. BUT.. ” and she added a photo captioned “You sir, need Jesus.”