Ariana Grande files lawsuit against hackers who allegedly infiltrated devices of her inner circle
Ariana Grande is proving she's not one to be messed with, launching her own legal proceedings against hackers who supposedly managed to break into the devices of some of her closest confidants.
Celebrities are no strangers to privacy hacks, with the infamous 'Fappening' iCloud leak of 2014 that exposed X-rated images of Jennifer Lawrence and more, Paris Hilton dealing with the 2005 T-Mobile hack, and the likes of Elon Musk and Kanye West having their Twitter accounts hacked in 2020.
Most recently, one cybersecurity expert claims to have seen a massive leaked database that included potential contact details for everyone from Angelina Jolie to Robert De Niro.
According to papers seen by Variety, a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles refers to how hackers targeted the digital accounts of photographers and producers who worked closely with Grande.
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This unnamed group of John Does is accused of using phishing scams and hacking schemes to steal data spanning unreleased music and photographs, then trying to sell them online for "significant sums of money."
The group is said to have caused Grande "unlawful and egregious theft, dissemination, and exploitation of unreleased content."
In particular, the "Thank U, Next" artist points to a 2019 hack where hackers apparently gained access to a Dropbox account connected to a photographer who'd worked with her.
Just one year later, bad actors got into a mobile device connected to a producer whom she'd collaborated with, this time locating unreleased masters, demos, and footage from recording sessions.
It's said that in 2023 alone, 45 of her unreleased songs were leaked by hackers.
In 2024, cybercriminals reportedly created a Gmail account and domain name to impersonate a photographer, hoping to trick a digital technician into sending unreleased photos belonging to the singer.
Planning to lead the way for other celebrities, Grande's lawsuit hopes to "uncover the identities of these currently unknown and unscrupulous individuals in order to hold them accountable for their invasive and reprehensible conduct."
It's apparently "imperative to Ms. Grande to ensure — on behalf of herself and others — that such conduct is deterred to the fullest extent possible.”
Although the lawsuit simply names these John Does, Grande's team wants to expose and name them during the legal process.
Cybersecurity concerns are only growing as technology continues to advance, while only recently, Wicked and Wicked: Fore Good's Universal Pictures vowed to hunt down the person(s) responsible for leaking a high-quality copy of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey on X.
Grande's profile has soared since she played Cat Valentine on Nickelodeon's Victorious, and with her being named (twice) on Time's 100 most influential people lists, as well as having 10 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, and being one of Hollywood's hottest stars, it's no real surprise she's a major target for hackers.
Reps for Grande didn't immediately respond to Variety's request for comment.