One Direction stars says those nude photos aren't him

Liam Payne, middle, with his One Direction band mates. Photo/AP

It isn't just actresses and female singers who have been victims to one of the biggest breaches of privacy in recent history - the nude photo hacking scandal.

Liam Payne has also fallen prey to online pranksters, after a series of false naked photographs of him, that had been Photoshopped with another man in the background, surfaced on social media.

The One Direction singer took to Twitter to deny the authenticity of the "gay" pictures.

He posted: "Wow as if people think that weird photo going around is actually me lol think id rather tweet a full frontal than have people look at that[sic]."

However, after receiving some tweets from gay fans questioning his seeming offence at the false photographic reference to his sexuality, he posted the following:

I'm 100% not homophobic. But I'm also 100% not gay so when somebody says I am I'm gunna say I'm not which does not make me a homophobe

— Liam (@LiamPayne) September 21, 2014

The images are not thought to be related to the recent Reddit or 4Chan leaks.

They did, however, emerge amid a second wave of hacked personal pictures - including of Kim Kardashian and Rihanna - surfaced.

The actresses Vanessa Hudgens and Aubrey Plaza, designer and former child star Mary-Kate Olsen, and US soccer player Hope Solo are reportedly among those apparently vicitimised.

There were also new nude pictures purportedly of Jennifer Lawrence.

The FBI has vowed to widen its probe into the massive hacking of naked celebrity photos if necessary.

"The FBI's investigation into alleged computer intrusion/theft is continuing," FBI Los Angeles spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.

"I'm unable to comment on specifics with regard to alleged victims, but any individual who believes they are a victim of these violations is encouraged to report it, if not already engaged with law enforcement," she added.

Earlier this month, more than 100 household names were the target of online thieves, who stole scores of naked photographs and intimate videos and posted them on the website 4Chan.

Several of the images - in particular, two of Hunger Games star Lawrence - quickly circulated on Twitter.

The original list had also included Olsen and Hudgens, as well as Ariana Grande, Jessica Brown Findlay, Mary E Winstead, Mary E Winstead, Cara Delevingne, Kate Bosworth, Selena Gomez, Kate Upton, Kirsten Dunst and Kaley Cuoco.

The FBI and Apple are both conducting investigations into the apparent widespread invasion of personal accounts thought to be connected to the iCloud service.

A spokesperson for Lawrence said at the time: "This is a flagrant violation of privacy. The authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence."

Justice and Grande both said that the pictures were fake, although Lawrence's spokesperson verified their authenticity.

Representatives for Upton said they were "looking into" the authenticity of the intimate images.

Ricky Gervais went on a back tracking spree on the social media site after he was criticised for "victim blaming", while Emma Watson also took to Twitter to voice her condemnation of the breach.

- Independent