Ariana Grande is suing two individuals over the alleged hacking of unreleased music, photos, and videos, reports People. The complaint states, “In 2023 alone, 45 unreleased songs belonging to Ms. Grande were hacked, stolen, and leaked by Defendants. Since her music debut in 2011, hundreds of similar leaks have taken place.” Grande’s team also alleges that the hackers were paid “significant sums of money” by selling the leaked data. Grande currently does not know the identity of the hackers; her intention with the suit is to unmask those responsible.
“The lawsuit is [also] 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,” a rep for Grande told People. Pitchfork has reached out to Grande’s team for further comment.
In a 2024 interview with Zach Sang, Grande spoke about the most recent hacks. “Before I left for Wicked, the few studio sessions that I did [went] all over TikTok. Thank you so much, I’ll see you in jail. Literally,” she said. “The thing is, those were all written for a TV show, for something that was not for me, so ‘Fantasize’ comes out—it was crazy, it was stolen…. Thieves! Pirates! Crooks! Illegal! I’ll pay you more to put it away or to get it back.”
Grande is currently on her first tour in seven years. Her new album Petal premieres this Friday.