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The stands at Madison Square Garden are typically filled with plenty of celebrities who head to midtown Manhattan to catch a game or event, and it’s not rare for the venue to hand out free tickets to attract notable names. Unfortunately, Emily Ratajkowski may have cost herself some comped seats over a premature exit.
As you may or may not know, Madison Square Garden (as well as the New York Knicks and Rangers) is owned and overseen by James Dolan, the ornery billionaire who’s known for ruling the iconic venue with an iron fist.
In 2017, Knicks legend Charles Oakley was banned from MSG for a year after getting into it with Dolan during a game, and earlier this year, he was at the center of a lawsuit that alleged the building used facial recognition technology to keep out attorneys who were helping to wage a legal battle against him.
There were plenty of big names inside The World’s Most Famous Arena when the Knicks faced off against the Heat on November 28—a game that saw the home team overcome a 21-point deficit to secure a 100-98 victory in the NBA’s In-Season Tournament.
That included Emily Ratajkowski, who was sitting courtside with fellow model Irina Shayk but didn’t get to see the Knicks cap off the comeback because they left the building with around two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter (which was supposedly the result of a “childcare issue”).
According to The New York Post, that premature exit didn’t sit well with the powers that be at MSG. Multiple sources told the outlet Ratajkowski attempted to secure some comped tickets to a Rangers game at some point in December only to have that request denied, with an official spokesperson saying:
“Emily was not offered comped tickets for the Rangers. She was offered, and is welcome, to buy great seats any time.”
Do I have any proof this was the direct result of James Dolan deciding to pull the pettiest move possible after being driven into a rage by the perceived slight? Absolutely not, but I’m going to tell myself that was the case until proven otherwise.