Lorde seeking legal advice over 'stalker'

Lorde. Photo / Getty Images

Pop star Lorde is seeking legal advice over whether to lay a complaint against a photographer over allegations of stalking.

The 17-year-old took to Twitter yesterday accusing Simon Runting of violating her privacy.

"this man has been stalking me, photographing me and refusing me privacy. i am scared of him. he frequents central akl," she wrote.

Lorde's manager, Scott MacLachlan, told Radio New Zealand a complaint had not been made to police, but that was being discussed with a lawyer.

New Zealand represents home to the singer songwriter, and if she did not feel safe he feared she might move elsewhere, he said.

The double Grammy winner said yesterday she refused to stay complicit or "stay passive about men systematically subjecting me to extreme fear".

She posted pictures of Mr Runting as well as a link to his Facebook page.

The posts were sent to her more than one and a half million followers on Twitter, and retweeted thousands of times.

She accepted that photos from the paparazzi came with fame, but: "i do not understand why I should be complacent".

It was not known what sparked the online tirade against the photographer, but it was not the first time Runting has been blasted by pop stars.

Last year Rihanna compared the Auckland paparazzi to Nazis in an online post, after Runting took shots of her standing in her Auckland hotel room window wrapped in a blanket. The 26-year-old singer was in Auckland to play three shows in October.

She posted the photo to her Instagram account with the caption: "I hate these n***** more than the Nazi".

Lorde re-posted the photographs of Rihanna, and said it was not an acceptable standard for anyone in the industry.

Runting was not available for comment.