Astroworld festival: rappers Travis Scott, Drake sued over deadly crush at Texas concert
- First Astroworld lawsuits land; Travis Scott and Drake are named as defendants
- Criminal probe opened into crush at outdoor rap concert in Houston that killed eight
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Texas firm Thomas J. Henry Law on Sunday tweeted a story published by The Daily Mail on the suit, confirming it had filed “one of the first lawsuits in Travis Scott Astroworld Festival tragedy”.
The plaintiff is 23-year-old concertgoer Kristian Paredes, who was one of those “severely injured” at the concert on the night of November 5.
Around 50,000 people were in the audience at Houston’s NRG Park when the crowd started pushing toward the stage as Scott was performing, triggering chaotic scenes.
Texas-resident Paredes, who is also suing concert organisers Live Nation and the venue, “felt an immediate push” at the front of the general admission section as Travis Scott got on stage, the complaint said.
“The crowd became chaotic and a stampede began,” it went on.
“Many begged security guards hired by Live Nation Entertainment for help, but were ignored.”
The suit, filed in Houston’s Harris County court, claims Scott “had incited mayhem and chaos at prior events” and that “defendants knew or should have known of (Scott’s) prior conduct”.
The suit accuses Canadian rap superstar Drake, who joined Scott’s headline set, of contributing to causing the surge toward the stage.
“As Drake came onstage alongside of Travis Scott he helped incite the crowd even though he knew of Travis Scott’s prior conduct,” the complaint charges.
He continued to perform even as the “crowd became out of control” and the “crowd mayhem continued,” it added.
Survivors of the incident described chaotic scenes of people squeezed up against one another, with many struggling to breathe.
Scott, who launched the Astroworld music festival in 2018, reportedly halted his act several times when he saw fans in distress near the stage.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said authorities were looking at video footage and talking to witnesses, concert organisers and people who were hospitalised.
He told reporters on Saturday that the eight people killed were aged from 14 to 27, with one person’s age unknown.
The chaos also resulted in 25 people being transported to the hospital and more than 300 people being treated on the scene for minor injuries.
In statements made since the concert, Scott said he is “devastated” by the deaths and pledged his support to Houston law enforcement investigating the incident.
“Any time I could make out anything that was going on, I’d stop the show and help them get the help they need,” said Scott, who did briefly pause his set at points to acknowledge the presence of emergency medics and instruct security to aid one person who passed out.
“I could never imagine the severity of the situation.”
In a second lawsuit, reported by Billboard, concertgoer Manuel Souza sued Scott as well as Live Nation and concert organiser ScoreMore.
Additional reporting by Tribune News Service
