Ariana Grande sues alleged hackers for leaking 45 unreleased songs and private content

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Ariana Grande has taken legal action against two unidentified individuals accused of hacking the private digital accounts of her collaborators and stealing unreleased material, according to a complaint filed by her legal team on Monday, July 27.

The lawsuit alleges that the hackers accessed sensitive creative content, profited from it, and caused widespread leaks of Grande's unreleased work. The legal action also seeks to uncover the identities of those allegedly responsible.

Hackers leaked Ariana Grande's unreleased songs

According to the complaint, Grande is suing two John Does after they allegedly hacked "various personal digital accounts of photographers and producers who have worked closely" with her.

The lawsuit claims the alleged breach resulted in the "unlawful and egregious theft, dissemination, and exploitation of unreleased content."

The complaint further alleges that the John Does sold "personal data and content on the dark web for significant sums of money," profiting from the hacked material.

Among the content allegedly stolen were unreleased songs, photographs, and video and audio recordings documenting her creative process that were "not intended for public consumption." 

The filing alleges that "In 2023 alone, 45 unreleased songs belonging to Ms Grande were hacked, stolen, and leaked by Defendants." It also states that "Since her music debut in 2011, hundreds of similar leaks have taken place."

Her legal team said the lawsuit is intended to identify the alleged hackers behind the attacks.

A source close to the singer 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."

The source added, "Artists deserve the right to control how and when their art is shared with the world. The unlawful theft and distribution of creative work undermines that right and should not be tolerated."

Ariana Grande reflects ahead of 'Petal' release

Ariana Grande previously addressed music leaks during an appearance on the 'Zach Sang Show' while promoting Eternal Sunshine two years ago.

Speaking about producer Max Martin and the leaked track 'Fantasize,' she said, "He's just been such an incredible friend these past few years."

Referring to unreleased recordings that surfaced online, Grande added, "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."

She continued, "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!"

She announced her eighth studio album, 'Petal,' in April, revealing its cover artwork and release date ahead of her Eternal Sunshine Tour.

The album is scheduled for release on July 31 via Republic Records and features a close-up black-and-white cover image of Grande smiling with her hair partially covering her face.

Explaining the title, Grande said Petal represents "something that is full of life and growing through the cracks of something cold and hard and challenging."

Speaking to Interview magazine last year, she credited Eternal Sunshine and her role in 'Wicked' with helping her "reclaim certain pieces" of herself and improve her relationship with fame.