Madison Square Garden has filed a lawsuit against WIRED, accusing the outlet of defamation over an article that claimed it was keeping records of gay celebrities.
Earlier this month WIRED ran an article with the headline “Madison Square Garden Kept a List of Gay Celebrities”, which alleged that the arena kept an internal database of celebrities and VIPs that included labels for sexuality, racial identity and “risk” levels.
Shortly after the article went live, a spokesperson for Madison Square Garden denied the reports entirely, telling NME: “Wired’s reporting is inaccurate and false. MSG is pursuing legal remedies.”
Now, the arena is suing the publication, its ownership, journalists Noah Shachtman, Maddy Varner, and editor Katie Drummond.
The suit was filed yesterday (Thursday July 16) in a New York trial court and claimed defamation and interference with contracts and obligations.
WIRED is accused of lying in the article to make readers believe that MSG was tracking gay celebrities to exclude them from events – something which the arena says is a “false implication” and the opposite of the truth.
Madison Square Garden has sued WIRED for defamation, accusing the publication of falsely implying it tracked LGBTQ celebrities in order to exclude them from events.
In a statement, WIRED said it stood by its reporting and called the lawsuit "baseless and ridiculous."…
— CONSEQUENCE (@consequence) July 17, 2026
“Defendants published the Article with knowledge of its falsity or with reckless disregard for the truth,” MSG said in their complaint (via Consequence). “This is not the first time Defendants have rushed to publish clickbait in place of facts, but it should be their last.”
MSG also said that while it did keep information on celebrities’ sexual orientations, this was only done to “further inclusion” and invite members of the LGBTQIA community to events where they could get involved in sponsorship opportunities and community outreach. It added that the information was held in the same regard as details like birthdays and favourite sports teams, and was never used to discriminate.
In their filing, MSG accused WIRED of “report[ing] false and purposely misleading ‘facts’ to generate a story with complete disregard for the truth and their ethical obligations as journalists”.
They also described the article as showing “shockingly unethical conduct”, and claimed that the “implication that MSG maintains a database with a sexual orientation field for exclusionary, discriminatory, security, or risk-based purposes is a lie”. The filing added that “Defendants knew there was no nefarious ‘list’ of gay celebrities”.
MSG has outlined that it has a history of supporting LGBTQIA causes and organisations, has asked for a jury trial, and is seeking money for compensation from WIRED.
A statement from WIRED leadership. pic.twitter.com/06d9qTD9dy
— WIRED (@WIRED) July 17, 2026
WIRED have shared a response to the lawsuit on X too, defending the claims laid out in the original article.
“We stand by this reporting, and plan to vigorously defend it against this baseless and ridiculous lawsuit,” their statement read.
“We look forward to continuing our coverage of MSG, and on billionaire James Dolan’s use of technology across his entertainment empire. It’s one part of our wider mission and the critical job of journalists, now more than ever: holding power to account.”
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