A Los Angeles judge has granted pop star Ariana Grande permission to subpoena information that will help to reveal the identities of anonymous hackers she alleges infiltrated the devices of people close to her and stole unreleased music.
Judge Mark H. Epstein approved Grande’s proposed order for expedited discovery on Wednesday, after her legal team argued that it was necessary to identify those who hacked and stole the unreleased music, behind-the-scenes footage and music videos that were reportedly sold online.
“Given that there is no one to whom notice can be given anyway, it makes little sense to wait the 16 days,” Judge Epstein wrote in the legal filing, viewed by The Hollywood Reporter, Rolling Stone and Variety. “And on the merits of the motion, good cause is shown.”
Global News has not independently viewed the documents.
Grande initially filed her lawsuit on July 27, which reportedly targets a group of unnamed John Does for phishing scams and hacking schemes that caused “unlawful and egregious theft, dissemination and exploitation of unreleased content.”
Grande’s legal team reportedly outlined a pattern of illegal behaviour in which the unnamed hackers targeted the personal digital accounts of photographers and producers who work closely with her and sold the data for “significant sums of money,” according to Variety.
Grande is suing the unnamed hackers to “uncover the identities of these currently unknown and unscrupulous individuals in order to hold them accountable for their invasive and reprehensible conduct,” per Variety.
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The lawsuit reportedly states that it is “imperative to Ms. Grande to ensure — on behalf of herself and others — that such conduct is deterred to the fullest extent possible.”
The 33-year-old singer’s legal team is asking a judge to order a return of her items as well as stopping further action in the future, ABC News reports.
The lawsuit also alleges invasion of privacy, violation of California’s Comprehensive Data Access and Fraud Act, and civil theft, according to the outlet.
“In 2023 alone, 45 unreleased songs belonging to Ms. Grande were hacked, stolen, and leaked by Defendants,” the complaint alleges, according to NBC News. “Since her music debut in 2011, hundreds of similar leaks have taken place.”
Grande is demanding a jury trial, according to the complaint, viewed by the outlets.
The case is due back in court on Jan. 25 for a status hearing.
Global News has reached out to Grande’s rep for further comment, but has not received a response.
Grande previously spoke out about her unreleased music showing up online without her permission during a 2024 appearance on the Zach Sang Show.
She said her unreleased song Fantasize was leaked online and gained popularity on TikTok.
“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,” Grande said.
“They’re all real leaks?” Sang asked.
“No, yeah, they are real,” she responded.
Grande said most of the leaks were written for a TV show.
“So Fantasize comes out, crazy. It was stolen, thieves, pirates, crooks, illegal! I’ll pay you more to put it away, to get it back,” she said. “That wasn’t my song. It wasn’t for me. It was like a parody of a ’90s girl group vibe but they loved it.”
Grande is also making headlines this week for demanding that U.S. President Donald Trump stop using her music — again.
On Thursday, the Team Trump TikTok account shared a video that used Grande’s We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love) as the soundtrack.
In the clip, Trump can be seen walking to a podium at a rally and looking at the audience.
Text laid over the video uses Grande’s lyrics from the song, reading, “Me and my truth we sit in silence.”
Shortly after, more text appears that reads, “Men can’t have babies and should never compete in women’s sports.”
“This shouldn’t be controversial! #Trump #ArianaGrande #Maga,” the caption for the post reads.
Grande replied in the comments on the post, writing, “Never use my music again. Also, your truth is false.”
By Friday afternoon, the music was removed from the video and TikTok added a label to the video, saying “This sound isn’t available.”
This marks the second time that Grande has told Trump’s administration to stop using her music to promote its policies.
In June, the White House shared a video on TikTok highlighting its immigration policy. The video, which depicts federal agents arresting and handcuffing people, features the Grammy Award-winning singer’s 2024 song Bye.
“Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense,” Grande wrote in a comment posted on the White House video on TikTok.
Responding to Grande, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said: “We’ll say this one last time: what’s actually barbaric, inhumane, and heinous are the criminal illegal aliens who have injured and murdered innocent American citizens.”
—With files from Reuters
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