How A Comedian Expertly Shut Down Attempts To Extort Her Over Topless Pic

In April, American comedian and actress Whitney Cummings accidentally posted a topless photo on Instagram and quickly deleted it.

But many took screenshots and asked questions like: "How much would it cost to not share this photo?"

Ms Cumming's answer was to repost the photo, rather than submit to extortion.

The 36-year-old revealed in a series of tweets on Monday that she had been blackmailed over an Instagram story she posted while eating a lychee fruit in the bath. She didn't realise that more was visible in the frame than she cared to share.

"Once I realized, I deleted. The people who took screen grabs are trying to get money from me, some said they have offers to sell them, some are asking for money to not post the photo," she wrote.

1) In April I accidentally posted an insta story that showed nipple. Once I realized, I deleted. The people who took screen grabs are trying to get money from me, some said they have offers to sell them, some are asking for money to not post the photo.

— Whitney Cummings (@WhitneyCummings) August 12, 2019

She also posted screenshots of people asking her for money.

Fed up, Ms Cummings decided to outdo those trying to extort her and share the photograph herself.

"They all must think I'm way more famous than I am, but they also must think I'm way more easily intimidated than I am," she said in a powerful post that has been 'liked' by over 1.3 lakh people.

"When a woman in the public eye is extorted, we have to spend time, money and energy dealing with it, hiring lawyers and security experts, and living with a pit in our stomach about when and how we will be humiliated," she added.

Ms Cummings refused to reveal the identities of the people attempting to extort her "because some of them might be dumb kids."

According to CNN, more than 30 states and the District of Columbia have laws against nonconsensual disclosure of sexually explicit images and videos.