Jared Leto Suing TMZ For 'Stolen' Video Of Him Dissing Taylor Swift

30 Seconds To Mars frontman Jared Leto is suing celebrity gossip site TMZ after he alleged that a video of him critiquing songs from pop star Taylor Swift's 1989 was stolen. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Oscar-winning actor has filed a copyright lawsuit against TMZ and Warner Bros Entertainment for the stolen footage. 

In the clip, which is still live on the TMZ site, Leto is seen with an engineer at a home studio listening to Swift's tracks. Towards the end of the video, the singer is seen saying, "I mean, fuck her. I don't give a fuck about her."

In a prepared statement, the 43-year-old musician said making the video public was an invasion of his privacy. 

"Last Sunday, I was alerted that 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," Leto said. 

"They chose to post it anyway. Let's be clear. This was stolen footage. This was an invasion of privacy. And it was both legally and morally wrong. Regardless of who we are, we should all be able to talk freely in the privacy of our own homes without the fear that our unfiltered thoughts or actions will get broadcast to the world."

According to a complaint filed in a federal court, the video was shot on 8 September by a videographer retained by Leto. It is reported that the videographer handed over the footage to TMZ for a payment of $2,000.

The complaint states that "TMZ requested that Videographer sign a document confirming he had the legal right to deliver the Footage."

"Videographer refused to sign such an acknowledgement. Prior to any broadcast of the Footage, Plaintiff had advised Defendants that the Footage was stolen, and that Defendants were not authorized to disseminate, display, or publish the Footage on the website TMZ.com or at all."

It's also been reported that after TMZ made an effort to publish the video as soon as possible, the videographer urged them not to do so, saying, "Do not post the footage. I do not own it. I do not have permission."

Prior to Leto releasing a public statement, he took to Twitter to apologise to Swift for the comments he made in the video. 

On Tuesday he tweeted, "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."

Read Leto's full statement below. 

"Last Sunday, I was alerted that 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. Let's be clear. This was stolen footage. This was an invasion of privacy. And it was both legally and morally wrong. Regardless of who we are, we should all be able to talk freely in the privacy of our own homes without the fear that our unfiltered thoughts or actions will get broadcast to the world. We have the right to privacy and security and when we don't have protections in place to safeguard those things, we lose the freedom to speak loudly and clearly - right or wrong - about anything and everything we choose to. I have chosen to file this lawsuit not because I want 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."