J-Law's ex Nicholas Hoult addresses nude leaks

Actor Nicholas Hoult. Photo / Getty Images

Jennifer Lawrence's ex boyfriend Nicholas Hoult has spoken briefly about her nude photo leak.

The 24-year-old actor was put on the spot during an appearance Good Day New York to promote his new film Young Ones.

News anchor Rosanna Scotto asked what Hoult thought about the leaks, and Lawrence's recent remarks on the photo leaks.

"I think they might have been pictures that were sent to you ... I was wondering how you felt about that," she probed.

The About a Boy star sat back awkwardly and folded his arms as he responded simply: "It's shocking that things like that happen in the world. It's a shame."

Lawrence this week spoke publicly for the first time about the naked pictures, saying she felt violated and was afraid how the hacked photographs would affect her career.

"Just because I'm a public figure, just because I'm an actress, does not mean that I asked for this," the 24-year-old Oscar-winning actress told Vanity Fair.

"It's my body, and it should be my choice, and the fact that it is not my choice is absolutely disgusting. I can't believe that we even live in that kind of world.

"It is not a scandal. It is a sex crime."

Hackers dumped nude photos of more than a dozen Hollywood celebrities on social media last month after snatching them from Apple's iCloud in what the tech giant called a "targeted attack."

Lawrence told Vanity Fair she had sent the photographs to her then boyfriend while they were in a long distance relationship.

She was initially tempted to write a statement, but said: "Every single thing that I tried to write made me cry or get angry.

"I started to write an apology, but I don't have anything to say I'm sorry for. I was in a loving, healthy, great relationship for four years. It was long distance, and either your boyfriend is going to look at porn or he's going to look at you."

- AAP