Pop star Ariana Grande is taking legal action against anonymous hackers who have repeatedly stolen and leaked her unreleased songs, music videos, and personal photos over the past several years.
The lawsuit, filed on Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, targets unidentified individuals listed as "John Doe 1" and "John Does 2 through 100." Grande's legal team aims to uncover the true identities of those behind the widespread leaks. According to court documents, 45 unreleased songs were stolen and leaked in 2023 alone, with hundreds of unauthorized leaks occurring since Grande made her music debut in 2011.
The stolen content extends far beyond finished music. It includes unreleased audio masters and demos, footage from recording sessions, music videos, behind-the-scenes photographs, and unused outtakes from album photo shoots. The lawsuit accuses the hackers of selling this private material to buyers and posting it across social media platforms including X, TikTok, and YouTube.
In addition to invading Grande's privacy, the lawsuit claims the hackers violated California's Comprehensive Data Access and Fraud Act. This anti-hacking law prohibits unauthorized access to computer systems and has previously been cited in high-profile legal battles, such as Sony's lawsuit against hacker George Hotz and Meta's case against Pegasus spyware creators.
Court filings show that the hackers frequently targeted Grande's creative team rather than the singer directly. In 2019, hackers accessed a photographer's Dropbox account to steal photos. The following year, unreleased video footage was taken from a producer's mobile device. More recently, in 2024, scammers used phishing emails to trick a technician working with one of Grande's photographers into handing over unreleased photos.
Through this lawsuit, Grande seeks to put an end to years of digital theft and protect the creative work of artists and their collaborators.