Justin Verlander, baseball player and boyfriend of model Kate Upton, addressed the recent celebrity nude photo hack, which leaked photos of Upton, Verlander and other celebrities.

Justin Verlander Addresses Kate Upton Nude Photos

Before Verlander, who plays for the Detroit Tigers, took to the field Tuesday night, the 31-year-old spoke briefly to reporters. Though he did not directly address the nude photos of Upton, he did issue a blanket ‘no comment’ statement responding to the controversy.

“I’m not going to comment on my personal life. I never have and I never plan on it. I keep my personal life personal. The focus for me is on the Detroit Tigers. I don’t want to take any focus away from this team and what we’re trying to accomplish,” Verlander told reporters.

Verlander continued, stating that his focus was solely on baseball, before making it clear that he would not be releasing any further statement on the photos. “I know some guys are probably getting a lot of pressure from other people to get quotes or whatever. I knew I’d be getting a lot of questions. This is it,” he added.

Verlander and Upton have managed to keep their relationship somewhat private. The model, and new face of Bobbi Brown and Express, doesn’t address her relationship in interviews and rarely posts photos of him on social media, though a few have cropped up here and there.

Kate Upton, Jennifer Lawrence Respond To Leak

Upton herself has not commented on the leaked photos, but her attorney did address the hack Monday, vowing to take legal action. “This is obviously an outrageous violation of our client Kate Upton’s privacy. We intend to pursue anyone disseminating or duplicating these illegally obtained images to the fullest extent possible,” said attorney Lawrence Shire.

Other celebrities affected by the hack have released similar statements. Jennifer Lawrence’s spokesperson also stated that they would be taking legal action against those distributing the photos, saying, “This is a flagrant violation of privacy. The authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence.”

Furthermore, celebrities not affected by the hack have spoken out in defense of their peers, including actors Emma Watson and Seth Rogen.

Apple Releases Statement On 'iCloud Hack'

The FBI is investigating massive celebrity hack, dubbed the ‘iCloud hack' after the original 4chan post of the celebrity nude photos claimed to have obtained them through the iCloud. Apple also conducted an investigation into their online security and the security of the iCloud, their online storage program. In a statement released Tuesday, Apple claimed that the investigation had revealed that the so-called iCloud hack was not, in fact, a breach of the iCloud system, but a targeted attack on celebrity accounts.

“When we learned of the theft, we were outraged and immediately mobilized Apple’s engineers to discover the source. Our customers’ privacy and security are of utmost importance to us. After more than 40 hours of investigation, we have discovered that certain celebrity accounts were compromised by a very targeted attack on user names, passwords and security questions, a practice that has become all too common on the Internet. None of the cases we have investigated has resulted from any breach in any of Apple’s systems including iCloud or Find my iPhone. We are continuing to work with law enforcement to help identify the criminals involved,” Apple said in their statement.

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.