Newly revealed incendiary messages in which a Live Nation employee mocks customers as “so stupid” and says the company is “robbing them blind, baby” are gaining public attention during an ongoing antitrust trial. The messages were highlighted Wednesday in a filing by government lawyers insisting that the messages should be evidence in the week-old Manhattan federal court trial. Live Nation, parent of Ticketmaster, wants them disqualified from the trial, saying they reflect “off-the-cuff banter, not policy” between two personal friends who don't work together. The trial's status is uncertain after the federal government announced this week it is settling though many states are not.

The Justice Department says it's reached a settlement in its antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company, California-based Live Nation Entertainment that will benefit consumers by letting competitors play a role in ticket sales and force Live Nation to sell 13 amphitheaters. Some states, though, are not joining the deal and say they'll continue a trial in New York federal court. The case alleged there was an illegal monopoly over live events in America. The announcement angered a judge who said he was kept out of the loop. The government has said Live Nation's monopoly costs consumers. Live Nation has maintained that artists and teams set prices and decide how tickets are sold.