As half the world knows by now, hundreds of images of celebrities in various states of undress have leaked onto the Internet. This event was variously referred to as The Fappening, CelebGate, or simply the Celebrity Nudes Leak. And it was all the fault of some hacker named 4chan, apparently.
Opinions on this saga have varied considerably. Some have equated the act of looking at the images as a form of sexual abuse, while others have treated it all as one big joke. We are not here to preach, so, presented without judgment on their suitability, here are some of the funniest tweets that appeared on Twitter in the aftermath.
I Prefer Cans
still cant get over this jennifer lawrence topless photo. pic.twitter.com/ewXbduXYdW
— jeff (@LoudFlavor) September 5, 2014
I hope they just happened to have those bottles to hand, because if they actually went out to a shop looking for the combination of Jennifer and Lawrence that's more than a little creepy.
He Blue It
#IfMyPhoneGotHacked there really is actually this one nude picture of me pic.twitter.com/JcwlnNGLGT
— Nitsuh Abebe (@ntabebe) September 1, 2014
I've seen worse works of art. None quite so sexy as this, but definitely worse.
I Am Disappoint
#ifmyphonegothacked my dad would be more disappointed in me than he already is
— alexa f (@alexafalk_) September 1, 2014
This reveals the truth, doesn't it? The truth being we all have stuff stored on our phones that we would rather remain private.
Vin Potato
Wow, the leaks get crazier and crazier. Vin Diesel's nudes have leaked. #erotic #CelebGate pic.twitter.com/O2Os7Mvb5A
— Jameson McFaber (@JamesonMF) September 1, 2014
Vin Diesel looks like a potato. I'm not sure what more I can add to this statement.
Barred For Life
If there was an internet in 1988 people would've stolen and leaked nude pictures of Roseanne and me and no one would've ever done it again.
— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) September 1, 2014
If Roseanne Barr's ex-husband can say this and get away with it then celebrities cannot be as overly sensitive as previously thought.
Blame The President
I think we all know who leaked Jennifer Lawrence's nudes pic.twitter.com/ixg32vs1cI
— taylormulkey (@TaylorMulkey) September 2, 2014
This is a reference to The Hunger Games. Don't worry if you don't understand it, that just means those films are probably not meant for you.
At Least She's Honest
The Internet is scary. Thank god all my personal photos are only of dogs and cats and food, and I'm only naked on tv.
— Alexandra Daddario (@AADaddario) September 1, 2014
Does this mean she has photos of naked cats and dogs eating food while watching her on TV? Or have I got that all mixed up.
F5 Fail
#CelebGate pic.twitter.com/SV2Sawow8Q
— thehardme (@thehardmenpath) August 31, 2014
Sales of computer keyboard have increased 500 percent since The Fappening. Made-up facts have increased 1000 percent.
Bad Hair Day
#ifmyphonegothacked My dog would be mad because I'm not supposed to have pictures of that time she got a bad haircut. pic.twitter.com/X8AhHXQ66Z [Broken URL Removed]
— Jake Simon (@Sim0n_Sayeth) September 1, 2014 [Broken URL Removed]
My advice to the dog? Hire a good publicist.
Porn, What Porn?
thank heavens someone hacked those actors' accounts, I had heard the internet was about to run out of photos of naked women.
— Robin Ince (@robinince) September 1, 2014
Another truth hidden behind an attempt at humor. The Internet is absolutely awash with naked images of all kinds, and yet the leaking of another 100 or so made everyone lose their collective shit.
Hot Shot
They would find many things like this since I'm still not quite sure how my phone camera works. #ifmyphonegothacked pic.twitter.com/lJgxOqly8j
— J.K. (@JayKuciaMusic) September 1, 2014
I'm guessing Jennifer Lawrence is now wishing she had experienced the same problem.
Cloudy With A Chance Of...
iCloud reacts to Jennifer Lawrence's leaked photos pic.twitter.com/DPMrTslanN
— Obey Reyes (@ObeyReyees) September 1, 2014
Rude? Yes. But also funny. Apple has denied iCloud is to blame, but I'm sure not all celebrities own iPhones, so why was it targeted?
Mixed Messages
I wouldn't know about Jennifer Lawrence's nude selfies if it weren't for people excitedly tweeting about how I have no right to see them.
— David Aaronovitch (@DAaronovitch) September 1, 2014
The Barbara Streisand Effect seen in action once more. If this leak hadn't been publicized by people aghast at what happened then this would have been confined just to Reddit users.
Sick & Twisted
At the end of "The Fappening" everyone on reddit finds out they were jerking off to pictures of M Night Shyamalan the WHOLE time.
— Matt Mira (@MattMira) September 2, 2014
M. Night Shyamalan has been off his game of late, so this would be the perfect way to show he still has the power to shock with a surprise twist ending.
Whatever Floats Your Boat
Since I didn't take part in "The Fappening", I will say my The Fappening was Screech's CGI muscles in the Saved By The Bell Lifetime movie.
— sean oconnor (@seanoconnz) September 2, 2014
We all indulged in a little self-love when those CGI muscles appeared on screen, didn't we? I'm not even ashamed.
The Hottest Picture Yet
Anyone who retweets this leaked erotic photo of me should be ashamed of themselves. pic.twitter.com/p2KBa6serK
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) August 31, 2014
Ricky Gervais is one good-looking man. But when he pulls a funny face while sat in the bath he turns from attractive actor into idyllic Adonis. /sarcasm
Hollywood Conspires
Conspiracy Theory of the Day: The Fappening was a PR stunt for this film that's out this week.. #jenniferlawrence pic.twitter.com/wQz9Kx6zOb
— Steve Watts (@stevewatts) September 2, 2014
Could it be that this whole thing was planned as a viral Internet ad for Sex Tape? No, it could not. Not even Jennifer Lawrence naked can save that film.
No Joke
Re "The Fappening" and the leaked private celeb nudes: It's important to remember that this is what NSA employees do "legally" all the time.
— Rick Falkvinge (@Falkvinge) September 3, 2014
How very depressing. Because it's true.
Bonus Video Clip: Who Is 4chan?!
As indicated in the opening paragraph, some guy called 4chan was implicated in this hack, as explained by CNN. We all know 4chan is a website and photo-sharing community which did nothing more than provide the platform on which these images were disseminated, but no one seems to have passed that memo onto "technology expert" Brett Larson.
Are We OK To Laugh At This?
The question is, are we OK to laugh at any aspect of this scandal? From my personal perspective, you can be completely sympathetic with the victims of this leak and still find humor in people's reactions to it. But you may disagree. Let us know your thoughts on this moral quandary in the comments below.
Image Credit: Kai Schreiber via Flickr