Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney, one of the victims of the extensive celebrity nude photo hack that culminated in a massive leak over the weekend, has claimed she was underage when the stolen pictures of her were taken.
Maroney, who turned 18 last December, initially called the photos fake on Twitter. Now, she is taking legal action, according to TMZ.
Pictures of the athlete had begun appearing in pornographic sites, prompting her lawyers to send a letter of request to Porn.com and other such websites asking them to immediately take down the photos, citing Maroney's age and her ownership of the copyright on the photos.
A representative for Porn.com said the website removed the photos in question as soon as they received the notice from Maroney's lawyers, stated TMZ.
Maroney, who was a member of the gold-medal winning 2012 US Olympics gymnastics team, had previously claimed the photos were fake, saying on Twitter, "the fake photos of me are crazy!! was trying to rise above it all, and not give the 'creator' the time of day..."
She added, "shout out to my fans for defending me all day long. even things got weird u stood by me. and that meant the world."
Fellow athletes rushed to defend and give support to Maroney following the leak.
"This scandal is not a joke and it is upsetting that an invasion of privacy results in entertainment for some," tweeted her Olympics teammate Aly Raisman.
"Please respect the fact that the photos were private and not for the whole world to see. My heart is broken for the women who were violated. Every person is entitled to their own privacy. I am saddened that something like this has happened and I hope it never happens again," Raisman said in a series of tweets.
Other victims of the hacking and leak have said the photos of them were fake, including singer Ariana Grande and actress Victoria Justice. Meanwhile, actress Jennifer Lawrence and model Kate Upton are actively pursuing legal action against the hackers and individuals who post the photos alike.