According to a recent report from Wired, Madison Square Garden (MSG) temporarily deactivated its on-site surveillance capabilities during the wedding festivities of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. The venue allegedly restricted security personnel’s access to its camera network and facial recognition software for seven hours on July 2—the evening of the couple’s rehearsal dinner—and again during the wedding ceremony on July 3. Representatives for Swift have not yet responded to requests for comment.
Wired journalist Noah Shachtman, who has previously investigated MSG’s extensive celebrity tracking database, obtained an internal memo indicating the shutdown was executed following a “client privacy request.” Sources suggest such a request is unprecedented; an anonymous informant told Wired that no other major entities, including NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. Discovery, or the New York Police Department, have ever requested similar privacy protocols during private events at MSG-owned properties. (MSG is currently engaged in legal action against Wired regarding its reporting on the venue’s “talent database,” which MSG representatives have characterized as “inaccurate and false.”)
The security infrastructure at MSG utilizes Genetec software, which typically employs biometric scanners to monitor guests as they move through the facility. However, per reporting by CNN, attendees at the Swift-Kelce wedding reportedly entered through a separate, private entrance that bypassed these scanners. The memo reviewed by Wired noted that while internal monitoring was suspended, MSG’s external-facing cameras remained operational throughout the event.
This incident follows a recent data breach by the hacking group ShinyHunters, which leaked MSG’s internal “talent” database. The leaked files contained sensitive information on nearly 40,000 celebrities, including their race, gender, sexual orientation, and a calculated “risk level.” Shachtman noted that several high-profile guests of the Swift-Kelce wedding, such as Ice Spice, Benson Boone, and Selena Gomez with Benny Blanco, were among those assigned risk scores in the database.
