Even though it's the year 2018, an image of an Arab woman in a swimsuit can still send people into a complete frenzy.
This is exactly what happened earlier this week when Egyptian actress Rahma Hasan Haddad came under fire after leaked images of her enjoying a day on the beach went viral on social media.
The images were taken by friends of the actress and made their way online over the weekend. Soon after, Haddad was heavily attacked by people who thought the images were "inappropriate", and "too revealing".
However, not everyone had the same opinion, and there are hundreds who have since come to her defense.
The frenzy over the swimsuit images was real...
Although the actress wasn't nude in any of the now-viral images, they still circulated all over the internet wrongfully accompanied by titles like "naked Rahma Hasan", and "Rahma Hasan poses naked".
Some heavily attacked Haddad over them...
"If this is what freedom means in your opinion then to hell with it."
Others misogynistically weighed in on the controversy...
"To the guys who are being so open-minded about this: Show us photo-sessions of your sisters posing like Rahma Hasan."
Not everyone stood against the actress though
"Rahma Hasan's images are so pretty. If you don't like them, you can simply not look at them and get on with your life."
Many defended her...
"My timeline is all Rahma Hasan! By the way, this is her life and she's free to do whatever the hell she wants. Let people be, this is such a sick country."
"If these were images of Scarlett Johansson we would've shared her photos with heart emojis"
"Anyways, Rahma Hasan's photo-session is just beautiful."
Amid the online stir, Haddad issued an apologetic statement...
In her response to the intense backlash she was subjected to over the images, Haddad posted the now-viral photos on her account. She later deleted them, explaining that she put them up to let people know there was nothing "indecent" about them.
The actress then issued a statement apologizing to Egyptians via a video she uploaded on Instagram. In it, she stated that the photos weren't taken at a public gathering but in private and were meant for her own personal use.
She also added that hackers were responsible for stealing her pictures and leaking them.
And many responded to her apology like this...
"Why is she apologizing and to who? I don't understand. Did she take these photos in your houses! Or did she steal that bikini from your drawers?"
"Her only mistake is that she apologized over something that doesn't need an apology"
"A new victim of regression and fake morality. Rahma Hassan is a beautiful actress, talented and hardworking. No one should have the authority to deprive her of her personal freedom or her right to express herself in any way she wants to."