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Celebrity Hacker Apologizes For His “Addiction”

Megan Singson |
October 13, 2011 | 1:07 p.m. PDT

Staff Writer

Many fans love to hear about what goes on in a celebrity’s life, but one man took it too far. What started out as a fascination for Hollywood became a serious invasion of privacy. Christopher Chaney, the 35-year old man behind what the FBI calls “Operation Hackerazzi,” has publicly apologized in his interview with a Fox news affiliate in Florida. Chaney explained his actions, saying, “It started as curiosity and it turned to just being addictive. Seeing the behind-the-scenes of what’s going on with the people you see on the big screen.” The addiction became so serious that he admitted, “I was almost relieved when they came in and took the computers inside.”

Chaney hacked into the email accounts of 50 stars, some of which resulted in nude scandals for celebrities like Scarlett Johansson, Christina Aguilera, Mila Kunis, and Vanessa Hudgens. However, Chaney claims that he never wanted to release the photos, suggesting that others were responsible for spreading the emails to the public.

He realizes that what he did was wrong, admitting, “I deeply apologize. I know what I did was probably one of the worst invasions of privacy someone could experience. I am not trying to escape what I did.”

Chaney plans on pleading guilty to all charges. If convicted, he may face 121 years in federal prison.

 

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