Jared Leto Sues TMZ Over ‘Stolen’ Taylor Swift Video
Jared Leto may not “give a fuck about” Taylor Swift, but he probably didn’t want anyone to know it. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he’s filed a lawsuit against TMZ and parent company Warner Bros. Entertainment after the site featured a video on Monday of the actor and Thirty Seconds to Mars singer critiquing Swift’s music. Leto alleges TMZ knew it was stolen, but published the video anyway.
In the clip in question, Leto is seen listening to Swift’s “Welcome to New York,” “Blank Space” and “Style” from her 1989 album, presumably for inspiration, but he also criticized aspects of the songs. At the end of the clip, Leto says, “I mean fuck her, I don’t give a fuck about her, it’s whatever works best for us.”
Leto publicly apologized via Twitter on Tuesday, writing, “The truth is I think @TaylorSwift13 is amazing + an incredible example of what’s possible. If I hurt her or her fans my sincerest apologies.”
The Suicide Squad star followed up his mea culpa with a copyright lawsuit via his Sisyphus Touring company. The complaint alleges TMZ obtained the “stolen” footage, promising to pay $2000 to a videographer who told them he didn’t have a legal right to the footage and also refused to sign a document stating that he did.
“Last Sunday, I was alerted TMZ had acquired personal and private video footage of me in my home and that they were planning to leak it on their site. My team notified TMZ immediately that I fully owned the footage and that their source had absolutely no rights to sell it. They chose to post it anyway,” Leto said in a statement via THR. “Let’s be clear. This was stolen footage. This was an invasion of privacy. And it was both morally and legally wrong.”
He added that he chose to file the lawsuit, “not because I wanted to, but in hopes it will encourage more people to stop trafficking in stolen goods, to follow proper legal procedure and so that it may motivate additional consideration for the harm these acts can create, especially when the only intention is to simply further the bottom line for the companies and corporations that commit these acts.”