Grande Granted Expedited Discovery to Identify Music Hackers

Pop star Ariana Grande has been granted expedited discovery by a Los Angeles County judge as part of her lawsuit to identify anonymous hackers who allegedly stole and leaked her unreleased music, videos, and photographs over a period of years. The ruling allows her legal team to immediately seek subpoenas for records from internet platforms in an effort to unmask the individuals responsible.

The lawsuit, filed on July 27 in Santa Monica Superior Court, names numerous "John Doe" defendants, alleging they engaged in a sustained hacking campaign beginning in 2019. According to court filings, the perpetrators targeted not Grande herself, but the personal digital accounts and devices of her close circle of photographers and producers. They allegedly used stolen login credentials and phishing schemes to breach accounts, stealing unreleased masters, demos, recording-session footage, and photographs.

Judge Mark H. Epstein approved the request for an expedited third-party deposition subpoena on Wednesday, August 19. His ruling stated that the standard 20-day waiting period would be futile, as Grande "cannot even with reasonable diligence" discover the defendants' identities without this...