'Weinergate' Student Rips 'Outlandish Harassment'

(Newser) – The Seattle college student who received a lewd underwear photo sent from Rep. Anthony Weiner's Twitter account says she never met the congressman, had nothing to do with the pic, and that the resulting firestorm is "outlandish harassment." The "last 36 hours have been the most confusing, anxiety-ridden hours of my life," write Gennette Cordova in the New York Daily News. The photo was most likely an online prank, writes Cordova, who said she had been harassed by someone since Weiner linked to her Twitter account about a month ago. Weiner has denied having anything to do with the photo.

Cordova tried to block the prankster by boosting the privacy settings on her social media accounts, but soon "realized that I had grossly underestimated the severity of the situation." Over the next day, friends and family received a barrage of phone calls as strangers sought obtain Cordova's contact information. "Contrary to the impression that I apparently gave from my tweet, I am not his girlfriend," Cordova explains. "Nor am I the wife, girlfriend or mistress of Barack Obama, Ray Allen or Cristiano Ronaldo," despite the fact that she has discussed them on Twitter.