Ariana Grande sued a number of individuals Monday, alleging the defendants, identified as John Does 1 through 100, hacked her collaborators’ files in a “malicious invasion” of privacy.
In a filing obtained and viewed by TheWrap, Grande sued the John Does for allegedly hacking “various personal digital accounts of photographers and producers who have worked closely” with the pop star in the past. The “Wicked” star claimed this breach of privacy led to “unlawful and egregious theft, dissemination and exploitation of unreleased content.”
Grande’s filing further claimed that the John Does later profited from the files in-question, as they allegedly sold “personal data and content on the dark web for significant sums of money.”
“This malicious invasion of Ms. Grande’s privacy and disruption of her career have caused her substantial and irreparable harm due to this breach of privacy,” the filing claimed. “Most of the content at the issue includes unreleased songs, photographs and video and audio recording that are part of her personal and professional creative process and that not intended for public consumption.”
The document continued: “The unauthorized misappropriation and disclosure of these materials is a violation of Ms. Grande’s identity and artistry, and the direct and sacred relationship that exists between her and her fans.”
Per Grande’s filing, in 2023, 45 unreleased songs were hacked, stolen and leaked by the unnamed defendants. The document added: “Since her music debut in 2011, hundreds of similar leaks have taken place.”
The document noted that Grande was seeking “injunctive relief for Defendants’ illegal, wanton and deceitful conduct.” Additionally, the filing clarified that this legal action was taken to “uncover the identities of these currently unknown and unscrupulous individuals in order to hold them accountable for their invasive and reprehensible conduct.”
A representative for Grande did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Grande had previously bemoaned the hacking she faced as a pop star on a February 2024 episode of “The Zach Sang Show.” Specifically, she called out the leak of the unreleased song “Fantasize.”
“Before I left for ‘Wicked,’ the few studios sessions that I did, which are all over TikTok,” Grande quipped. “Thank you so much. I’ll see you in jail. Literally.”
She added: “The thing is is that those were all written for a TV show, for something that was not for me. So, ‘Fantasize’ comes out – comes out, crazy was stolen! Comes out?! Thieves. Pirates. Crooks. Illegal.”
