Madison Square Garden Entertainment has filed a defamation lawsuit against WIRED magazine over a recent report alleging the venue keeps a secret watchlist of celebrities.The 40-page lawsuit accuses WIRED of using stolen data to invent a false narrative that MSG maintains an internal blacklist targeting LGBTQ celebrities.The article, titled "Madison Square Garden Kept a List of Gay Celebrities," claims MSG used internal databases to track characteristics of VIP guests and celebrities, including their race, sexual orientation, and gender identity, while assigning "risk scores" to famous fans.MIAMI COPS SUE OVER MATT DAMON, BEN AFFLECK ‘TRUE EVENTS’ FILM, CLAIM IT FALSELY PAINTS THEM AS CORRUPTPresident Donald Trump attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on June 8, 2026, in New York City.(Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)"WIRED combed the dark web, obtained data stolen from MSG by an extortionist hacking group, and cherry-picked fragments of that data to manufacture a false narrative portraying MSG as targeting the LGBTQIA community for discriminatory purposes," MSG wrote in the lawsuit, obtained by USA TODAY Sports.MSG accused WIRED and its reporters of intentionally ignoring dozens of normal information fields on the list, such as addresses, phone numbers and dietary restrictions.
According to the lawsuit, these mundane fields prove the data was simply part of a standard system used for "relationship management purposes, not discrimination."WIRED said in a statement on X that it stood by its reporting and vowed to fight the case."Earlier today, WIRED learned that Madison Square Garden was suing us for our accurate reporting.
We stand by this reporting, and plan to vigorously defend it against this baseless and ridiculous lawsuit."NEW YORK TIMES BLASTS ‘ABUSIVE’ TRUMP SUBPOENAS TARGETING REPORTERS’ SOURCES"We look forward to continuing our coverage of MSG, and on billionaire James Dola...