Jennifer Lawrence calls nude photo leak a 'sex crime,' 'disgusting'

NEW YORK, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Jennifer Lawrence has broken her silence on the infamous leak of hundreds of intimate photos stolen from celebrities' iCloud accounts in September, including her own.

While interviewing for the November issue of Vanity Fair, the Academy Award-winning actress debunked the notion that the leak was "a scandal" and instead assured that, "It is a sex crime. It is a sexual violation."

"It's disgusting," Lawrence told the magazine. "The law needs to be changed, and we need to change. That's why these websites are responsible. Just the fact that somebody can be sexually exploited and violated, and the first thought that crosses somebody's mind is to make a profit from it. It's so beyond me. I just can't imagine being that detached from humanity. I can't imagine being that thoughtless and careless and so empty inside."

The Hunger Games star went on to condemn all those who looked at the leaked photos as perpetrators of a sexual offense and even faulted people whom she "[knows] and loves" for engaging with the photos.

"I don't want to get mad, but at the same time I'm thinking, I didn't tell you that you could look at my naked body."

Lawrence also opposed the arguments that the lack of privacy is one of the drawbacks of celebrity and said that "just because [she is] an actress... doesn't mean it comes with the territory."

"It's my body, and it should be my choice, and the fact that it is not my choice is absolutely disgusting," she said, later adding, "When I have to make that phone call to my dad and tell him what's happened... I don't care how much money I get for The Hunger Games, I promise you, anybody given the choice of that kind of money or having to make a phone call to tell your dad that something like that has happened, it's not worth it."

The actress also refuted the argument that she shouldn't have taken the pictures in the first place, by explaining the images were meant for her ex-boyfriend Nicholas Hoult with whom she was in "a loving, healthy, great relationship for four years."

"I started to write an apology, but I don't have anything to say I'm sorry for," she explained. "It was long distance and either your boyfriend is going to look at porn or he's going to look at you."

In the end, the actress admits that time has healed her wounds and that she no longer cries about the incident or worries about how the leak might impact her career.

"I can't be angry anymore. I can't have my happiness rest on these people being caught, because they might not be. I need to just find my own peace."

Lawrence along with multiple other female celebrities including Kate Upton, Gabrielle Union, Hayden Panettiere, Anna Kendrick and many more were the targets of three celebrity photo leaks last month.

Apple has said the celebrities' account were likely hacked through Phishing -- the act of posing as someone who has forgotten their username and password. The technology giant is said to be working closely with the FBI to find whoever was behind the leaks.