Radio City Music Hall Using Facial Scans to Keep out Blacklisted Patrons

A New Jersey lawyer was denied the chance to watch a Christmas show with her daughter at Radio City Music Hall, after facial recognition software spotted her.

While accompanying her daughter's Girls Scout troop to see The Rockettes perform, Kelly Conlon was spotted by facial recognition software at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, which is owned by Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSG).

After security informed Conlon that "our recognition picked you up," she was removed because the company has the policy to deny entry to patrons involved in litigation against MSG.

"I believe they said that our recognition picked you up," Conlon told NBC New York. "They knew my name before I told them. They knew the firm I was associated with before I told them. And they told me I was not allowed to be there."

Conlon, who has never practiced law in New York, is an associate of the New Jersey-based law firm Davis, Saperstein, and Solomon.

For years, the law firm has been involved in a personal injury suit against a restaurant venue now under MSG's umbrella.

"I don't practice in New York. I'm not an attorney that works on any cases against MSG," Conlon added.

But in a statement, MSG said Conlon was banned — along with fellow attorneys at the firm — until the suit gets resolved.

"MSG instituted a straightforward policy that precludes attorneys pursuing active litigation against the Company from attending events at our venues until that litigation has been resolved. While we understand this policy is disappointing to some, we cannot ignore the fact that litigation creates an inherently adverse environment."

A partner at the firm where Conlon works, Sam Davis, said "this whole scheme is a pretext for doing collective punishment on adversaries who would dare sue MSG in their multi-billion dollar network."

MSG adds that "in this particular situation, only the one attorney who chose to attend was denied entry, and the rest of her group — including the Girl Scouts — were all able to attend and enjoy the show."

"I was just a mom taking my daughter to see a Christmas show," Conlon said of the event. "I did wait outside. ... It was embarrassing, it was mortifying."

In response to the situation, Davis is now upping the legal ante against MSG by roping in the State Liquor Authority.

"The liquor license that MSG got requires them to admit members of the public, unless there are people who would be disruptive who constitute a security threat," said Davis.

"Taking a mother, separating a mother from her daughter and Girl Scouts she was watching over — and to do it under the pretext of protecting any disclosure of litigation information — is absolutely absurd. The fact they're using facial recognition to do this is frightening. It's un-American to do this," added Davis.

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