Ariana Grande has been granted expedited discovery in the pop star’s lawsuit over hackers stealing her unreleased music and photos, according to court documents filed in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
Grande first filed her lawsuit against unnamed John Does in July, alleging that hackers had targeted devices of people in her inner circle to steal unreleased music, photos and other materials, subsequently selling the content online on the “dark web for significant sums of money.”
Grande’s team filed a request for expedited third-party deposition subpoenas shorter than the usual required waiting period, noting that her team has “identified certain Internet platforms and third-party entities whose services were used to perpetrate the illegal dissemination and transactions, and which are believed to have information and data that will allow Plaintiff to identify and unmask these unknown Defendants.”
The court granted that request, noting that “it makes little sense to wait” given that Grande doesn’t have any specific defendants to serve.
“And on the merits of the motion, good cause is shown,” judge Mark H. Epstein ruled on Wednesday. “The 20 day waiting period will never run because plaintiff cannot — even with reasonable diligence — discovery the defendant’s identity without this discovery, and therefore will never be able to serve defendants.”
Grande said she’s been the victim of this hacking campaign for years, noting that in 2023, as many as 45 of her unreleased songs leaked online. Among the songs that have leaked are “Fantasize,” “That Bitch Is Mine” and “White Tee.”
