Ariana Grande is taking legal action against a group of unidentified individuals she says spent years stealing and leaking her unreleased music, private photos, and behind-the-scenes recordings. The lawsuit marks the singer’s latest effort to stop the circulation of material she says was never intended for public release.
Filed in Los Angeles in late July 2026, the complaint accuses the anonymous defendants of carrying out a coordinated hacking operation that targeted people within Grande’s professional circle rather than the singer herself. Her legal team argues the alleged scheme caused lasting damage to both her career and her relationship with fans.
Grande Says Hackers Targeted Her Collaborators For Years
According to the complaint obtained by PEOPLE, Grande is suing defendants identified as “John Does 1 through 100” for allegedly hacking the digital accounts of photographers, producers, and other close collaborators to gain access to unreleased material. The lawsuit claims the stolen files, including demo tracks, unreleased masters, photographs, and video recordings, were later sold on the dark web for “significant sums of money.”
Grande’s legal team described the alleged breaches as an “unlawful and egregious theft,” arguing that the leaked material was unfinished creative work never intended for public release.
“This malicious invasion of Ms. Grande’s privacy and disruption of her career have caused her substantial and irreparable harm,” the complaint states.
The lawsuit also argues that the leaks damaged the “direct and sacred relationship” between Grande and her fans by depriving her of the ability to decide when and how her work should be shared. Along with an invasion of privacy claim, the singer is suing for alleged violations of California’s computer hacking laws and for conversion, a civil claim involving the wrongful taking of property.
According to the filing, the alleged attacks date back to 2011, with hundreds of leaks occurring over the years. The complaint outlines several incidents, including a 2019 hack of a photographer’s Dropbox account, the alleged compromise of a producer’s phone in 2020, and the 2023 leak of 45 unreleased songs. It also claims hackers used a fake email domain in 2024 to impersonate one of Grande’s photographers, convincing a technician to hand over unpublished images.
A source close to Grande told PEOPLE that the lawsuit is intended to identify those responsible and discourage similar attacks across the music industry.
“Artists deserve the right to control how and when their art is shared with the world,” the source said. “The unlawful theft and distribution of creative work undermines that right and should not be tolerated.”
Grande previously addressed music leaks during an appearance on the Zach Sang Show while promoting Eternal Sunshine. Referring to unreleased material that had surfaced online, she joked, “I’ll see you in jail,” before calling those responsible “pirates, crooks, illegal!” The new lawsuit suggests the singer now intends to back those remarks with legal action.