The internet has been reeling over the tragic news that followed Travis Scott’s 2021 Astroworld Music Festival. The Texas-based event was supposed to occur on November 5 and 6 but ended after its first night due to a deadly crowd surge.
Many reports allege that the concert was overcrowded and lacked proper security personnel and safety protocols.
As of now, eight concertgoers are dead and many are hospitalized over severe injuries. Out of the seven identified deceased victims, two of them were under the age of 18.
The popular rapper is credited for organizing the event with his first one launching in 2018. Since the tragedy, the online discourse has been combative, with many arguing over whether or not he should be held accountable for what happened.
Sometimes doctored videos have been circulating on Twitter showing Scott performing amidst the chaos with medical professionals struggling to reach the victims.
While some videos have proved to be false, the performer does have a history of egging his concert attendees on including by encouraging them to partake in dangerous activities. Back in 2017, he urged a fan to jump off a balcony on to the standing admission level of a venue under the false pretense that someone would catch them.
The most recent news following Astroworld has now led to Scott being sued by an injured concertgoer who has referred to the event as a “predictable and preventable tragedy.”
Scott is being sued
As reported by The Hill, Scott is being sued by an attendee of this year’s Astroworld Festival. The outlet states that Scott and his partnered organizers, ScoreMore and Live Nation, are being sued by “at least one injured attendee” named Manuel Souza. It is unknown at the time if others have filed a lawsuit, or plan to.
The lawsuit calls the incident “a predictable and preventable tragedy,” and describes the stampede as being a result of organizers forgoing safety precautions to make a higher profit and inciting violence. In a statement to the outlet, Souza’s attorney said, “Travis Scott has a history of inciting violence and creating dangerous conditions for concertgoers.”
Fans respond to the news
In response to this recent update and the tragedy, Twitter has been buzzing with resources and thoughts on crowd control. One tweeted a link to an article about the “crush point” which they define as a phenomenon that “is well known by professional high capacity event organizers.”
Others are sharing videos of popular bands pausing their shows in order to do some crowd control. Popular frontmen being highlighted are Linkin Park’s late Chester Bennington, Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, and My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way.
Reports allege that thirty minutes into the Astroworld performance, medical professionals called the event a “mass-casualty incident” and urged the organizers to stop it. However, Scott reportedly went on the finish his set for the evening. While it is claimed that Live Nation consented to end the performance, caution was reportedly taken in an attempt to not “incite a riot.”
Since the tragedy, Scott has uploaded a written statement on his social media accounts as well as a video of his verbal apology. He has not released any statement addressing the lawsuit.