Madison Square Garden Entertainment has initiated a defamation lawsuit against WIRED magazine following a report that claims the venue maintains a secret watchlist of celebrities. The lawsuit, which spans 40 pages, alleges that WIRED used stolen data to create a false narrative that Madison Square Garden (MSG) targets LGBTQ celebrities with an internal blacklist. The article in question asserts that MSG tracks various characteristics of VIP guests, including race and sexual orientation, and assigns 'risk scores' to celebrities.
MSG's lawsuit contends that WIRED misrepresented the data, which includes standard information fields such as addresses and dietary restrictions, to suggest discriminatory practices. WIRED has stated its commitment to defend its reporting, describing the lawsuit as baseless. The report indicated that MSG's database includes nearly 40,000 names, with around 400 assigned risk scores based on social media criticism rather than safety threats. Notable figures mentioned in the report include comedian Adam Pally and musicians Lil Jon and DaBaby, who were categorized with varying risk levels. The data breach that led to the report was attributed to the hacking group ShinyHunters, which released files after MSG refused to pay a ransom.