Madonna's 'Rebel Heart' hacker sentenced to 14 months in prison
Adi Lederman, an Israeli hacker accused of leaking Madonna's unfinished Rebel Heart demos late last year, was sentenced to 14 months in prison by Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court on Thursday (July 9), according to the Jerusalem Post. Lederman, who auditioned for Israel singing competition Kochav Nolad (A Star Is Born) in 2012, was first arrested for the leak in January, and indicted on four counts in February. A spokesperson for Madonna was unavailable for comment.
According to documents previously obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Lederman was charged on Feb. 23 on counts of computer trespassing, prohibited secret monitoring and additional computer trespassing, copyright infringement and obstructing investigation, relating to the private cloud accounts of Madonna's team members Sara Zambrano, Angie Teo and Kevin Antunes. Per the court documents, Adelman shared "various files and music files copyrighted by Madonna Esther Louise Ciccone," obtained via an office email account labeled "osearyoffice," and reportedly hacked into 15 other unspecified email accounts.
The Rebel Heart leak forced an accelerated release schedule for Madonna's latest album, beginning with a six-track EP that was rushed to iTunes on Dec. 20, and a March 10 release of the full album more than a month ahead of schedule. Speaking to Billboard days after the initial web leak, Madonna's manager Guy Oseary said Madonna "was devastated -- I mean, devastated and sickened that someone would do this to her and not allow her the chance to share the finished product with people."
Madonna, for her part, overhauled the way she stored and shared new material in the leak's wake. In a December 21 interview with Billboard, the pop star said, "Well, we don't put things up on servers anymore. Everything we work on, if we work on computers, we're not on WiFi, we're not on the Internet, we don't work in a way where anybody can access the information. Hard drives of music are hand-carried to people. We don't leave music laying around. We have photo shoots or video shoots, and everyone has to leave their phone at the door. I mean, unfortunately, it sucks, but that's the way it is. That's how leaks happen."
Madonna's Rebel Heart Tour will now kick off Sept. 9 in Montreal, Quebec, after the first five dates were rescheduled for January due to production delays. Her latest single "Bitch I'm Madonna" became her 57th entry on the Billboard Hot 100 last month, and her first since 2012's No. 10-peaking "Give Me All Your Luvin'."
More from Billboard:
Fox's 'Grease: Live' Casts Its Danny Zuko
Ariana Grande's Donut Licking Stunt Knocks Shop's Health Rating Down
Watch Lady Gaga Surprise Copenhagen Jazz Fest With 'La Vie En Rose'
