--- description: The 'Beauty and the Beast' star is allegedly the latest target of a photo hack, with images taken for a clothes fitting leaked online. title: Emma Watson Takes Legal Action After Private Images Appear Online image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a4a5615fa9ff854/6988bc5697cdff24ad6afa43/emma-watson-harry-potter-fans.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Emma Watson Takes Legal Action After Private Images Appear Online ## Video: Emma Watson - He For She - Speech [Watch (HLS stream): Emma Watson - He For She - Speech](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/0clamGjK.m3u8) (0:23)  _Published 2014-09-22. Emma Watson -He For She- Speech_  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 15, 2017 7:34 PM CUT  Emma Watson attends UK launch event for 'Beauty And The Beast' at Spencer House on February 23, 2017 in London, England. Emma Watson attends UK launch event for 'Beauty And The Beast' at Spencer House on February 23, 2017 in London, England.Tim Whitby/Tim Whitby/Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 15, 2017 7:34 PM CUT [_Beauty and the Beast_](http://time.com/4702466/josh-gad-emma-watson-horse/ "undefined") star and [equal rights advocate](http://time.com/4695578/emma-watson-free-books-international-womens-day/ "undefined") Emma Watson is pursuing legal action against [alleged hackers](http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-39280844 "undefined") who leaked private pictures of the actress online. The images do not include nudity, but they have appeared online without her permission, a spokesperson for Watson told TIME in a statement. “Photos from a clothes fitting Emma had with a stylist a couple of years ago have been stolen,” her publicist explained in an e-mail to TIME. “They are not nude photographs. Lawyers have been instructed and we are not commenting further.” Watson has been in the spotlight recently promoting the live-action remake of the 1991 animated Disney musical. A UN Women Goodwill Ambassador since 2014, Watson also works as an advocate, participating in events like [International Women’s Day](http://time.com/4695578/emma-watson-free-books-international-womens-day/ "undefined"), running a [global feminist book club](http://time.com/4565572/emma-watson-is-hiding-free-books-in-new-york-citys-subway-now/ "undefined") and frequently discussing her [identity as a feminist.](http://motto.time.com/4691381/emma-watson-photo-feminism-vanity-fair/ "undefined") Watson was threatened with a leak of nude photos in 2014 after giving a speech on gender equality. She [later said](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/mar/09/emma-watson-feminist-international-womens-day-facebook "undefined") that she knew the threat was a hoax because the photos did not exist and [tweeted](https://twitter.com/EmmaWatson/status/506531006380527617?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw "undefined") her disappointment with both the violation and the “lack of empathy” surrounding it. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4702626/emma-watson-picture-hack/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4702626/emma-watson-picture-hack/"},"headline":"Emma Watson Takes Legal Action After Private Images Appear Online","datePublished":"2017-03-15T19:34:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:41:56.069Z","description":"Her spokesperson tells TIME that photos from a clothing fitting were stolen","url":"https://time.com/4702626/emma-watson-picture-hack/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Entertainment","celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a4a5615fa9ff854/6988bc5697cdff24ad6afa43/emma-watson-harry-potter-fans.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a4a5615fa9ff854/6988bc5697cdff24ad6afa43/emma-watson-harry-potter-fans.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"\"Beauty And The Beast\" - UK Launch Event","caption":"Emma Watson attends UK launch event for 'Beauty And The Beast' at Spencer House on February 23, 2017 in London, England.","creditText":"Tim Whitby/Tim Whitby/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4702626/emma-watson-picture-hack/","name":"Emma Watson Takes Legal Action After Private Images Appear Online"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Emma Watson - He For She - Speech","description":"Emma Watson -He For She- Speech","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/0clamGjK/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-09-22T11:27:02.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/0clamGjK.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4702626/emma-watson-picture-hack/","duration":"PT23S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4702626/emma-watson-picture-hack/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```