Madison Square Garden’s current on-site technology includes cameras that scan for facial recognition, allowing the arena to track every person who enters the building. But according to a recent Wired report, the historic New York City venue is keeping a far more extensive database on celebrities than previously known, with entries noting a supposed risk level, and, in some cases, an individual’s sexual orientation and racial identity. Among those listed are Phoebe Bridgers, Freddie Gibbs, and Geese’s Emily Green.
Wired journalists Noah Shachtman and Maddy Varner combed through Madison Square Garden documents that were published last month by the criminal hacker collective ShinyHunters and first covered by 404 Media. They found 39,539 entries in the Garden’s “talent” database, including politicians, athletes, business figures, and more.
Roughly 400 celebrities were also reportedly assigned a “risk” score. According to a Wired source, Madison Square Garden’s security assigns a score if the person has “done something in the publicity world, the social media world, that has caught the attention of the wrong people.” Those deemed a “low risk” include Ice Spice, Selena Gomez, and Benson Boone, while a “medium risk” tag has been assigned to Morgan Wallen, Lily Allen, and Jadakiss. Then there’s the “high risk” label, which is used on Gibbs, Pete Rock, Lil Jon, DaBaby, and A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, among others.