Wired Stands By Its Story on MSG ‘Risk Score’ as James Dolan Sues Outlet

Ryan Murphy/AP

Madison Square Garden’s ownership insisted it’s a “fervent” supporter of the LGBTQIA community, and accused Wired of “cherry-picking” stolen information for the outlet’s explosive report on the arena’s database of celebrity guests — which allegedly includes a “risk score” on the bold-faced names who show up at The World’s Most Famous Arena.

MSG sued Wired, along with reporters Noah Shachtman, Maddy Varner, and Katie Drummond, for defamation Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court, claiming in the legal papers that their July 9 report was framed “through a narrative of paranoia, surveillance, and discrimination.”

“This was not reporting — it was a personal attack on MSG and its leadership carried out under the guise of journalism,” according to the lawsuit.

Wired quickly fired back, posting a response on social media that said the outlet stood by its reporting:

A statement from WIRED leadership. pic.twitter.com/06d9qTD9dy

— WIRED (@WIRED) July 17, 2026

Shachtman and Drummond also responded on social media, slamming MSG for the legal maneuver.

“Not only do we stand by our reporting. Madison Square Garden’s ridiculous lawsuit actually confirms it, noting the company did, in fact, track the sexual orientation of LGBTQIA celebrities in its talent database,” Shachtman wrote on X and Bluesky.

Drummond reposted the outlet’s statement and added: “From me, and the WIRED leadership team. Proud of WIRED today and every day, and we’re not slowing down on our reporting about MSG or anything else.”

The Wired report claimed MSG keeps a database of celebrity guests, some of whom were given a “risk score” and some of whom had entries noting the sexual orientation of the VIPs:

A source with knowledge of the matter tells WIRED that Garden security has performed social media sweeps for prominent people looking for complimentary tickets to games.

If you’re a celebrity and you’re marked with a risk score — even as a low risk — it means “you’ve done something in the publicity world, the social media world, that has caught the attention of the wrong people,” the source continues.

The talent database, which has entries dating back to December 2020 and includes updates as recent as early June of this year, makes repeated reference to “SM concerns.”

Physical security threats — potential harms to people or property — are documented in a separate database, the source says. (The source adds that these sorts of databases are common at arenas.)

Wired quoted a source who slammed the database as “really, really paranoid.”

MSG clapped back in its court papers, calling the report “misleading” and accusing the reporters of relying on stolen data.

Arena ownership boasted in the litigation about its pro-LGBTQIA efforts:

MSG and its affiliated entities have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Pride and LGBTQIA organizations, provided ticket vouchers, maintained recurring partnerships with LGBTQIA community organizations and Pride-centered sports and youth programs, maintained a Pride Employee Resource Group of approximately 285 employees and have had more than two hundred employees and guests participate in the New York City Pride March since 2022.

“The Article’s implication that MSG maintains a database with a sexual orientation field for exclusionary, discriminatory, security, or risk-based purposes is a lie,” MSG said in court papers.

It went on: “Defendants knew there was no nefarious ‘list’ of gay celebrities, and Defendants knew that the stolen data contained dozens of fields per customer—including mundane fields such as address, phone number, and dietary restrictions—used for relationship management purposes, not discrimination.”

“The publication of the Article and Defendants’ continuous promotion of the piece in interviews and commentary in the following days was done without concern for the truth and with the intent to cause maximal public impact,” MSG said in a news release.

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