Ariana Grande is suing hackers for leaking unreleased music
What's the story
Pop star Ariana Grande has filed a lawsuit against unidentified hackers who allegedly gained unauthorized access to devices, leading to the leak of her unreleased songs and footage from recording sessions and music videos. The suit was filed on Monday in Los Angeles. As per Variety, it targets a group of unnamed John Does for phishing scams and hacking schemes that have caused "unlawful and egregious theft, dissemination, and exploitation of unreleased content."
Legal details
Grande's legal team outlines pattern of illegal behavior
Grande's legal team has outlined a pattern of illegal behavior in which hackers targeted the personal digital accounts of photographers and producers who worked closely with her.
They subsequently sold the data and content for "significant sums of money."
The suit stated that "it is imperative to Ms. Grande to ensure, on behalf of herself and others, that such conduct is deterred to the fullest extent possible."
Allegations
Hundreds of similar leaks have occurred since 2011
The singer's suit claimed hundreds of similar leaks have occurred since her music debut in 2011.
It alleged that in 2019, hackers gained access to a Dropbox account belonging to a photographer who worked with Grande.
The following year, they hacked into a producer's mobile device who had collaborated with Grande and accessed unreleased masters, demos, and footage from recording sessions.
In 2023 alone, hackers leaked 45 of her unreleased songs.
Purpose
'Lawsuit intended to serve as a deterrent against future acts'
Grande's lawyers noted in the complaint that the singer is initiating legal action to uncover the identities of the alleged hackers.
A source close to Grande told PEOPLE, "The lawsuit is intended to serve as a deterrent against future acts of this nature, not only targeting Ariana, but also the many artists who have faced similar invasions of their privacy and theft of their creative work."
Previous statement
Grande had hinted at holding leakers accountable
In a 2024 interview on the Zach Sang Show, Grande had hinted at holding leakers accountable.
She said, "We were, before I left for Wicked, a few studio sessions that I did which are all over TikTok, thank you so much, I'll see you in jail. Literally."
"Those were all written for a TV show, for something that was not for me, so 'Fantasize' comes out, crazy, was stolen... these pirates, crooks, illegal!"