Lorde has spoke out about a paparazzi photographer she claims is stalking her.

The man in question, Simon Runting, is a New Zealand based photographer who works in Auckland. Last night (May 4), Lorde posted a series of messages on Twitter about the man, as well as sending a picture of him to her 1.56m followers.

Claiming that Runting is "stalking her", the teenage singer went on to say that he is denying her privacy and that she is scared of him. In further messages, she wrote: "This should not be an accepted standard for young women or anyone in this industry. I refuse to stay complicit and I refuse to stay passive about men systematically subjecting me to extreme fear. I understand that this comes with the territory. I do not understand why I should be complacent."

Runting has not yet responded to the claims.

The messages about Runting follow Lorde's criticism of 'spineless' music journalists and journalism after reading a negative review of Iggy Azalea's debut album 'The New Classic' last month (April).

The singer defended Azalea on Tumblr after reading a critical review of her album in US publication Complex. The post was subsequently endorsed by Grimes and Iggy Azalea herself.