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Madison Square Garden<\/a> has sued WIRED alleging the publication lied in an article to make readers believe the arena was tracking gay celebrities so it could exclude them from events, which is the opposite of the truth, the arena said.<\/p>\n Parent companies of Madison Square Garden and its sports team filed the lawsuit<\/a> Thursday in a New York trial court against WIRED, its ownership, as well as journalists Noah Shachtman, Maddy Varner, and WIRED editor Katie Drummond and claimed defamation and interference with contracts and obligations due to the news organization allegedly reporting private business information that hurt and sabotaged relationships with customers.<\/p>\n \u201cDefendants published the Article with knowledge of its falsity or with reckless disregard for the truth,\u201d MSG said in a roughly 40-page complaint. \u201cThis is not the first time Defendants have rushed to publish clickbait in place of facts, but it should be their last.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Video<\/p>\n The legal filing accuses WIRED, with a focus on Shachtman, of cherry picking information from hacked data to create a \u201cfalse implication\u201d that MSG tracks LGBTQIA celebrities for exclusionary purposes. While the arena acknowledged keeping information on celebrities\u2019 sexual orientations, it said the purpose of this information was \u201cto further inclusion\u201d by inviting LGBTQIA celebrities to supportive events, identifying sales and sponsorship opportunities, and facilitating donations and community outreach. The information was kept in mundane customer service and relations software alongside other information like birthdays, favorite sports teams and other ordinary fields for routine business purposes, MSG said in the complaint.<\/p>\n The arena told the court that WIRED manipulated this ordinary business information and \u201creported false and purposely misleading \u2018facts\u2019 to generate a story with complete disregard for the truth and their ethical obligations as journalists\u201d in what the complaint describes as \u201cshockingly unethical conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Article\u2019s implication that MSG maintains a database with a sexual orientation field for exclusionary, discriminatory, security, or risk-based purposes is a lie,\u201d the arena said. \u201cDefendants knew there was no nefarious \u2018list\u2019 of gay celebrities.\u201d<\/p>\n In the legal filing, Madison Square Garden said it has a history of supporting LGBTQIA causes and organizations.<\/p>\n On July 9th, WIRED ran an article<\/a> headlined \u201cMadison Square Garden Kept a List of Gay Celebrities\u201d that reported the arena designated some actors, musicians, including rappers, and other celebrities with risk levels and kept track of the sexual orientation of some. The article was still online as of Thursday evening. The arena quickly denounced the piece as \u201cinaccurate and false\u201d and said it was taking legal action.<\/p>\n Madison Square Garden asked for a jury trial and to be awarded money for compensation as well as punitive financial costs for WIRED and its affiliates to be determined later. The arena also asked that WIRED and affiliates pay for legal costs and attorney fees.<\/p>\n In a statement respond to the suit, WIRED said, \u201cWe stand by this reporting, and plan to vigorously defend it against this baseless and ridiculous lawsuit. We look forward to continuing our coverage of MSG, and on billionaire James Dolan\u2019s use of technology across his entertainment empire. It\u2019s one part of our wider mission and the critical job of journalists, now more than ever: holding power to account.\u201d<\/p>\n A statement from WIRED leadership. pic.twitter.com\/06d9qTD9dy<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 WIRED (@WIRED) July 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n