The plan to display the stolen nude photos of celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton in an art exhibit has been shelved, multiple reports confirmed on Thursday.
California-based artist XVALA took a lot of criticism online and from the media after announcing their plan to use the stolen nude photos of Lawrence and Upton as the main attraction for the exhibit at St. Petersburg next month.
According to the Cory Allen of the Cory Allen Contemporary of Art, XVALA has shelved the original plan for the "No Delete" exhibit following the public outrage since the proposed art show was announced.
"The artist's proposed exhibit "No Delete", which was to feature the recently hacked images of celebrities Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton, along with other celebrity compromised images the artist found on Google as part of his ongoing 7-year "Fear Google" campaign, will no longer be the visual representation of his exhibit, and instead, include the collective response to the hacked images and the exhibit," Allen wrote.
Allen also added that the decision to cancel the original plan was not just about protecting the privacy of the women involved in the controversy, but also to avoid triggering women exploitation, while also adding that he was pleased to see that several groups stood up to protect Lawrence and Upton's rights.
"It was inspiring to see people take action through a petition, signing their name and not just commenting on a thread," Allen said.
XVALA, on the other hand, said that he decided to cancel his plan because the photos were considered as "stolen" properties of Lawrence, Upton and the hundreds of celebrities who were involved in the massive online photo leak, including Ariana Grande, Rihanna, and Kim Kardashian.
"It wasn't just about being 'hacked' images anymore, but now presented in the media as stolen property," said XVALA, whose real name is Jeff Hamilton. "People were identifying with Jennifer Lawrence's and Kate Upton's victimization, much more than I had anticipated, which is powerfully persuasive."
Lawrence's camp recently issued a statement, confirming the authenticity of the photos, while also adding that they will make sure that the one who stole the naked images will be punished.
"This is obviously an outrageous violation of our client Kate Upton's privacy," Lawrence's attorney said in a statement via Page Six. "We intend to pursue anyone disseminating or duplicating these illegally obtained images to the fullest extent possible."
