On July 9, WIRED’s Noah Shachtman and Robert Silverman published a story built on a leaked MSG Entertainment “talent” database of roughly 39,539 entries, pulled from the company’s Salesforce system with edits as recent as June 2026.
About 400 celebrities and VIPs had been assigned risk scores: low (Edie Falco, Tracy Morgan, Ben Stiller), medium (Fat Joe, Anna Wintour, Morgan Wallen), high (Freddie Gibbs, Lil Jon, DaBaby). Others were tagged “DO NOT HOST” (Pete Rock after criticizing Dolan, Adam Pally) or “BANNED FROM MSG.” At least 93 entries were explicitly labeled “LGBTQIA,” including Ricky Martin, Phoebe Bridgers, and Geese’s Emily Green.
The data came from ShinyHunters, the criminal group that used voice phishing to get into MSG’s networks, exfiltrated about 45 GB, and dumped it after MSG refused to pay ransom. A companion database ran to more than 10.5 million entries with emails, phone numbers, and birthdates.
MSG’s first public response, on July 9, was that “Wired’s reporting is inaccurate and false. MSG is pursuing legal remedies.” On or around July 16, the company filed a defamation suit against WIRED, challenging how the story characterized the database as tracking celebrities’ race, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
According to WIRED, the complaint itself notes that the company did track the sexual orientation of LGBTQIA celebrities in the talent database.
Shachtman posted WIRED leadership’s response on July 17. “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.”
The July 9 article sat on top of years of WIRED reporting on MSG’s surveillance operation under Dolan: facial recognition in the venues since at least 2018, threat-assessment teams, dossiers on critics and lawyers and fans, and a former employee’s lawsuit describing detailed tracking of a trans woman. Class-action suits over the June 2026 breach are already moving through court.
WIRED says the document meant to prove it wrong is the one confirming its reporting.
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