A legal battle ensues as Ariana Grande takes legal action against hackers who have allegedly been stealing and profiting from her unreleased music, photos, and videos over an extended period. The lawsuit, filed in a California state court and reported by CBC News, accuses unidentified individuals of orchestrating a prolonged hacking scheme targeting individuals closely associated with Grande and having access to her unreleased content. The unauthorized access led to the theft, distribution, and monetization of the singer’s private materials.
According to the lawsuit, in 2023 alone, 45 unreleased songs by Grande were compromised and leaked, with numerous similar incidents occurring since her debut in 2011. The legal complaint details various breaches spanning several years, including the unauthorized access to a photographer’s Dropbox account in 2019 and the hacking of a producer’s phone in the following year, resulting in the dissemination of unreleased music and footage.
The most recent incident, as per the lawsuit, occurred in 2024 when a phishing attack targeted a digital technician working with a photographer collaborating with Grande. The hackers allegedly created a fake Gmail account and internet domain to impersonate the photographer and deceive the technician into sharing confidential materials.
This legal action is not the first response from Grande against hackers leaking her unreleased content. In a 2024 interview on The Zach Sang Show, she expressed frustration over the unauthorized release of a song called Fantasize, produced with Max Martin for a TV show, which went viral after being leaked online without her consent.
Jeremy Goldman, an intellectual property and technology lawyer based in Los Angeles, described the situation as complex, emphasizing the legal maneuver’s aim to obtain subpoena power for investigation purposes. While acknowledging the challenges in identifying and prosecuting hackers due to the elusive nature of cybercrimes, he highlighted the common strategy of pursuing legal action against anonymous perpetrators, citing a similar lawsuit involving singer Sia in 2023.
As Grande prepares for the release of her upcoming album, Petal, and continues her Eternal Sunshine tour, legal proceedings against the hackers responsible for the unauthorized distribution of her content remain ongoing.