Style
Travis Scott, Drake, and Astroworld organizers sued after concert tragedy
Scott has pledged to refund all festival attendees, and has canceled his upcoming Day N Vegas performance.
Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival, meant to be a celebration of the rapper’s fans and music, became a tragedy as lack of security and surging crowds resulted in eight deaths and over 300 injuries. Now, a concertgoer is calling the event “preventable and predictable” in a lawsuit filed on Saturday in Harris County District Court, Billboard reports.
Manuel Souza, who was injured while attending Astroworld, filed the lawsuit against Scott and Live Nation, which organized the music festival. The lawsuit claims the disaster was the direct result of “a motivation for profit at the expense of concertgoers’ health and safety” and the “encouragement of violence.”
“Encouraged dangerous behaviors” — ”Defendants failed to properly plan and conduct the concert in a safe manner,” wrote Souza’s attorney, Steve Kherkher of the firm Kherkher Garcia LLP, in the filing. “Instead, they consciously ignored the extreme risks of harm to concertgoers, and, in some cases, actively encouraged and fomented dangerous behaviors.”
Our own style editor Edgar Alvarez Barajas, who attended Astroworld, reported people breaking into the festival prior to Scott’s performance, as security was “uncomfortably nonchalant.” He also notes that his bag went unchecked by security, meaning he theoretically could’ve carried anything onto the festival grounds — a concerning matter as a source connected to Astroworld told TMZ there was someone in the crowd “injecting victims with drugs.”
In another lawsuit, via documents obtained by the Daily Mail, 23-year-old attendee Kristian Paredes is seeking $1 million over allegedly being pushed into the show’s general admission metal barrier and suffering permanent bodily injury. The lawsuit not only names Scott and LiveNation, but fellow Astroworld performer Drake, and Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation.
“There is every indication that the performers, organizers, and venue were not only aware of the hectic crowd but also that injuries and potential deaths may have occurred,” Paredes’ attorney Thomas J. Henry told the Daily Mail. “Still, they decided to put profits over their attendees and allowed the deadly show to go on.” Prior to his performance, Scott was reportedly warned by the Houston police chief, who was concerned about the “energy” of the crowd, a source told the New York Times.
What Travis has to say — Since Astroworld, Scott has released two statements about the incident, noting he was “devastated” about what happened. “I just wanna send prayers to the ones that was lost last night …” he told fans in a black-and-white video posted to Instagram, which he has since deleted. “You know my fans really mean the world to me, and I always really wanna leave them with a positive experience.”
Per Variety, Scott has canceled his headlining performance at Day N Vegas festival on Saturday, November 13, with sources telling the publication that he’s “too distraught to play.” The rapper will also provide full refunds for all attendees who bought tickets to Astroworld.
