Sep 22, 2024

Travis Scott Faces Over 90 Lawsuits as Deadly Astroworld Concert Claims 10th Victim

by Nadia El-Yaouti | Nov 15, 2021
Travis Scott performs during 2021 Astroworld Festival at NRG Park in Houston, Texas Photo Source: CNN - Travis Scott performs during 2021 Astroworld Festival at NRG Park in Houston, Texas

As lawsuits continue to pile up against Travis Scott and promotion company Live Nation Entertainment, the blame game has begun as authorities try to piece together how and when Scott’s Astroworld concert turned deadly.

The Astroworld festival left eight concertgoers dead and many others injured Friday, November 5th. Nearly a week later serious injuries sustained at the concert claimed the lives of 22-year-old Bharti Shahani and 10-year-old Ezra Blount. Blount is now the youngest victim of the Astroworld tragedy.

On Friday, prominent social justice attorney Ben Crump announced that he and his team were filing 90 more lawsuits on behalf of more than 200 victims who suffered injuries during the concert. During a press conference in Houston, Crump announced, "We represent more than 200 victims who were injured mentally, physically, and psychologically at the Astroworld Festival." Crump goes on to explain, “Nobody should ever die from going to a concert. So this lawsuit is not just about getting justice for them, but it's about making sure that the promoters and the organizers know that you cannot allow this to ever happen in the future.”

In addition to suits filed by Crump and his legal team, many concertgoers have brought forward their own lawsuits. One concertgoer, 23-year-old Kristian Paredes, names Scott, Live Nation, rapper Drake who performed alongside Scott, and the venue itself for failing to provide a safe event. Paredes’ suit explains that defendants “encouraged and allowed the subject premises to become overcrowded.” Paredes’ complaint also recounts Scott’s history of knowingly inciting rowdiness and chaos in his concerts. Scott has previously had charges filed against him related to inciting chaos at his events. Scott is also in the middle of a 2017 lawsuit that left one concertgoer partially paralyzed after he was pushed from a third-floor balcony.

Following the deadly concert, news about security missteps leading up to Scott’s performance slowly began to surface. Officials detail that on the day of the concert, safety issues arose after concertgoers rushed through the entry gates. Some sources report an estimated 5,000 concertgoers entered the venue without a ticket.

Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña shared with NBC last week that Scott was partially to blame for the deadly event. “The artist, if he notices something that's going on, he can certainly pause that performance, turn on the lights and say, ‘Hey, we're not going to continue until this thing is resolved,’” Peña explained. Early reports show that Scott did pause the concert at least once to address a medical issue in the crowd. However, concertgoers who survived the ordeal continue to share harrowing stories of dozens of individuals falling unconscious and being carried or pulled out of the crowd while Scott continued to perform.

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner has also come out with details of having personally warned Scott about safety concerns regarding the crowd early on in the day. However, Finner defended Houston PD after detailing that Harris County, not the City of Houston, entered into a contract with Live Nation and venue NRG Stadium. Finner explained that Houston PD was there to serve with “traffic enforcement…traffic management, securing the perimeter.” He adds that his department didn’t have the authority to “shut down the concert.”

Scott’s attorney Edwin F. McPherson has since responded to claims by Finner shifting the blame away from Scott and concert organizers. "Houston Police Chief Troy Finner was quoted in the New York Times as saying, 'You cannot just close when you got 50,000 and over 50,000 individuals. We have to worry about rioting, riots, when you have a group that’s that young.' Yet, just a short time later, Chief Finner states the responsibility to stop the show falls on Travis,” McPherson contends.

Scott’s spokeswoman, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, and a former Baltimore mayor also came to the rapper’s defense last week in a television interview with CBS Mornings. Rawlings-Blake defended Scott, explaining that notions he could have prevented the deadly crowd surge were “ludicrous.”

Rawlings-Blake explained that there was a “59-page operations plan, and it clearly says the only two people that are, have the authority to stop the concert, were the executive producer and the concert producer.” Rawlings-Blake adds, “He was not responsible for this, but he wants to be responsible for the solution.”

Although Scott shared a statement vowing to work with authorities the day after the event, Scott along with rapper Drake have been scrutinized for not caring about the well-being of their fans. Reports have since surfaced that following the concert, the duo went out partying as injured concertgoers were being rushed to the nearby hospital to be treated for injuries sustained during the performance.

Scott later revealed that he did not know concertgoers had died. He released a statement in which he explained, “I just want to send out prayers to the ones that were lost last night, we’re actually working right now to identify the families so we can help assist them through these tough times.

Scott’s attorney later shared, "He is distraught by the situation and desperately wishes to share his condolences and provide aid to them as soon as possible, but wants to remain respectful of each family’s wishes on how they’d best like to be connected." Scott has since vowed to pay funeral expenses for those who lost loved ones.

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Nadia El-Yaouti
Nadia El-Yaouti
Nadia El-Yaouti is a postgraduate from James Madison University, where she studied English and Education. Residing in Central Virginia with her husband and two young daughters, she balances her workaholic tendencies with a passion for travel, exploring the world with her family.