Ariana Grande has won a court order that allows her to subpoena various online platforms for the identities of people who have leaked her unreleased content.
On Wednesday (Aug. 19), a judge granted Grande’s request to immediately send subpoenas to social media sites and third-party payment services that allegedly have been used to facilitate the theft and publication of her unreleased music, photos and video footage. “On the merits of the motion, good cause is shown,” reads the court order, obtained by Billboard.
Grande initiated a lawsuit last month with the goal of unmasking anonymous individuals who’ve violated the “sacred relationship that exists between her and her fans.” The star claims cybercriminals have repeatedly hacked into the accounts of her photographers and producers and then sold the stolen material to others, who’ve in turn posted it on social media sites for the public to consume.
According to the lawsuit, Grande’s unreleased content has been posted to platforms including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X and Discord, and payments have been facilitated by services like PayPal and CashApp. While Grande has not accused any of these companies of wrongdoing, she says their help is needed to identify the anonymous account users who are to blame.
“Absent serving these identified third parties with discovery subpoenas, plaintiff will be unable to obtain the business records and information needed to unmask defendants, hiding behind anonymous accounts across various platforms, thus halting this action and foreclosing any relief for the substantial, irreparable harm already caused to plaintiff, her privacy and her artistry,” wrote Grande’s attorney, Joshua Rosenberg, in the request for subpoena power filed on Tuesday (Aug. 18).
Los Angeles County Judge Mark H. Epstein quickly granted the motion at a hearing one day later: “Plaintiff may serve the discovery aimed at identifying the identities of the Doe defendants at any time,” wrote the judge on Wednesday.
A rep for Grande declined to comment on the order.
Grande’s lawsuit claims she’s been the target of repeated cyberattacks ever since launching her music career in 2011. Her lawyers say they’ve been conducting an “extensive fact investigation” into the matter since 2023, when 45 unreleased Grande songs were leaked online. This included the viral track “Fantasize.”
The “Hate That I Made You Love Me” hitmaker is far from the only musician who has used the legal system to combat leakers. Artists including Madonna, Megan Thee Stallion, Ye (formerly Kanye West), Kelsea Ballerini and BTS have all done the same. As veteran music attorney Tal Dickstein explained to Billboard last month, “Filing legal claims can send a clear message that deters would-be hackers from engaging in this kind of unlawful activity.”
