Following last Friday’s tragedy where 8 people, aged 14-27, died and hundreds of people were severely injured at rapper Travis Scott’s annual Astroworld Music Festival in Houston, Texas, the rapper has been served over a dozen lawsuits, with more to come.
During Scott’s set on Friday, the crowd quickly became out of control and pushing began to ensue, leading to many festival-goers being crushed within the crowd and left unable to breathe.
After refusing to stop the show, the “Sicko Mode” singer has been accused of “inciting mayhem,” and is facing a plethora of lawsuits coming from those who were directly affected by the rapper’s actions, many claimants suing for negligence and damages for injuries.
According to one lawsuit filed in Harris County, Texas, concert-goer Manuel Souza “suffered serious bodily injuries when the uncontrolled crowd at the concert knocked him to the ground and trampled him.”
The lawsuit later went on to call out Live Nation Entertainment, the company responsible for organizing and promoting the Astroworld Music Festival, by stating, “Defendants failed to properly plan and conduct the concert in a safe manner.”
With over 50,000 people in attendance that day, Houston Police Department Chief Troy Finner reportedly expressed to Scott early on that safety was a major concern for concert attendants and should be placed at the forefront.
Many believe the precedent of “raging” set at Scott’s previous shows paired with the rapper’s track record of frequent encouragement of reckless behavior led to the level of chaos that occurred Friday night.
In a written message posted to Twitter, Scott spoke out about the tragedy, saying, “I’m absolutely devastated by what took place. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival.”
An investigation conducted by Houston Police and Fire Departments surrounding the circumstances is ongoing.
