Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. has filed a defamation lawsuit against Wired Magazine, alleging the publication used stolen data to falsely accuse the venue of surveilling gay celebrities. The suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, claims Wired manufactured a narrative portraying the Garden as targeting the LGBTQIA community for discriminatory purposes.
The article in question, published on July 9, accused the Garden of maintaining a secret database of celebrities, assigning them "risk scores," and cataloging their race, gender, and sexual identity, with dozens allegedly categorized as "LGBTQIA." The Garden vehemently denies these claims.
"Nothing could be further from the truth – MSG is a fervent supporter of the LGBTQIA community with a long history of inclusion, not exclusion," a spokesperson for the company stated. The venue took issue with the article's headline, "Madison Square Garden Kept a List of Gay Celebrities," asserting that the list was "created by the reporters themselves through their own manipulation of raw data."
According to the lawsuit, the data in question originated from a "standard customer relationship management platform" used for customer service. This included extending invitations to LGBTQIA support events, identifying sales and sponsorship opportunities, and facilitating charitable donations and community outreach.
The entertainment company also stated that Wired has published previous articles containing inaccuracies about MSG, suggesting a pattern of prioritizing sensationalism over factual reporting. Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. is seeking a retraction and correction of the article, in addition to damages.
The company highlighted its history of supporting the LGBTQIA community, pointing to hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions to LGBT and Pride organizations, as well as maintaining a "Pride Employee Resource Group" with nearly 300 members. The New York Post reported that it sought comment from Wired.