Kelsea Ballerini sues former fan for allegedly leaking her music
Country singer Kelsea Ballerini is taking legal action against a former fan accused of leaking her music.
In a lawsuit filed April 18 in Nashville's Middle District of Tennessee federal court, Ballerini — with her label Black River Entertainment and music producer Alysa Vanderheym — are suing Bo Ewing, a "disenfranchised" former member of her fan club, for allegedly copying and sharing her music illegally, according to documents obtained by USA TODAY.
In her copyright infringement complaint, Ballerini claims Ewing hacked her or Vanderheym's devices to access "still-in-production, unreleased masters and demos" and has shared the music with others.
Ballerini, 30, also filed a temporary restraining order against Ewing, an Ohio resident, which was granted by a judge the same day. A hearing for the case is set for Thursday.
"Protection of an artist's music is of the upmost importance," reps for Ballerini said in a statement to People Monday. "Artists spend countless hours perfecting their craft and telling their stories through their music. Stealing and sharing unfinished music is illegal and harms the integrity of the creative process."
Ballerini's complaint includes a photo of herself with Ewing at a concert and screenshots of tweets said to be of Ewing "disparaging" her on X, formerly Twitter. One screenshot, in reply to another tweet, sees user @bo_ewing writing: "You introduced me to Kelsea so I don't think I trust your taste sorry."
In separate screenshots, the user is seen claiming he leaked "the album name" and that he "could've leaked the track list the same day with the bonus tracks."
Ballerini's legal team claims Ewing is in violation of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and Tennessee's Personal and Commercial Computer Act. Ewing's actions have caused Black River and Ballerini damages, the complaint claims, including "anticipated lost profits and the loss of autonomy over the distribution" of their music.
The "Blindsided" singer is suing Ewing for $150,000 in damages.
Ballerini's latest project, "Rolling Up the Welcome Mat," was released in February 2023.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kelsea Ballerini sues fan Bo Ewing for alleged music leak
