30 Seconds Of Mars rocker and actor Jared Leto has filed a copyright lawsuit against TMZ's website bosses after private video footage of him criticising and poking fun at Taylor Swift was posted online. 

Leto apologised for his remarks earlier this week and said he has a lot of respect for Swift, but has now decided to take things further claiming that publication of the video was an invasion of his privacy. Announcing the legal action in an official statement, he said:

"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."

Follow us: @Pressparty on Twitter / Pressparty on Facebook.

Watch footage of Leto winning an acting award here: