As many of us are already aware, the pandemonium that occurred at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival in Texas on 5th November resulted in the death of 10 fans aged between 9 and 27, leaving hundreds more injured. This tragedy resulted in traumatised concertgoers and transformed the lives of those that lost loved ones in the blink of an eye, but what does this mean for Travis, for his fans and the future of his concerts?
So, what happened?
Casualties occurred around 21:30 as an excess of fans rushed towards the stage, causing a ‘human crush’ during Scott’s headlining set. Around 50,000 were present.
Implications for Travis:
Unsurprisingly, Travis is currently dealing with a plethora of lawsuits. Whilst Travis is known for not having the smoothest-sailing events and as a result, having legal action taken against him due to this, the catastrophic mass casualty incident that unfolded at the festival has seen the most deaths and injuries at one of his concerts so far.
According to reports, Scott’s being sued a total of $2.75 billion in lawsuits. As of 17th November, he was filed with a $750 million lawsuit on behalf of over 125 clients. In addition to this, there are further financial losses awaiting him including:
- Live Nation ticket refunds are to amount to over $15 million
- Scott is to cover the victim’s funeral costs as a promise to aid their families
- Scott’s themed emote removed from Fortnite- the 2020 Fortnite concert earned him $20 million
- Mega64 contract termination
Gross negligence on the part of Travis and the organisers?
It’s been disclosed that the potential for crowd surges had not been considered in the emergency plan of the event. There were also no set protocols for how to ensure safety if the situation arises.
Timeline of past chaotic Travis Scott events:
2015: Lollapalooza- Scott pleaded guilty to reckless conduct charges due to influencing fans to climb over safety barricades
2017: Convicted with misdemeanour charges of inciting a riot, disorderly conduct and endangering the welfare of a minor after encouraging fans to overpower security
2017: The artist’s ‘Terminal 5’ concert left a fan paralysed
2019: Crowd stampede over security barriers left 3 hospitalised
What’s going on with scheduled concerts?
- He might be removed from the 2022 Coachella line up due to a petition which has been signed by over 25,000
- Scott also recently pulled out from the Day N Vegas festival which took place 12-14th November
Words by: Michele Ngue-Awane
Edited by: Saffron Mubika