Overview
- Wired’s analysis of documents published by the hacker group ShinyHunters on Thursday found a Madison Square Garden “talent” file with about 39,539 entries, 93 marked “LGBTQIA,” and roughly 400 people given tiered risk ratings used to influence hosting or bans.
- The files show labels for race, gender identity and sexual orientation and a risk scale from “flag” and “low risk” up through “high risk,” “DO NOT HOST,” and “BANNED,” with named examples including Ice Spice (low risk), Freddie Gibbs (high risk) and Lil Tjay (banned).
- MSG has issued a public denial calling the reporting inaccurate and false and says it will pursue legal remedies, while multiple class-action lawsuits tied to the June breach remain active.
- The leak is broader than the talent file: reporting says the breach also exposed a customer dataset of about 10.5 million email addresses and internal security notes, raising questions about how venue surveillance and social‑media monitoring were used.
- Privacy advocates and named artists have pushed back, security experts urge affected people to change passwords and enable two‑factor authentication, and the disclosures could prompt further regulatory, litigation and reputational fallout for MSG and its leadership.