A few weeks ago a tragedy happened: ten people died, and over three hundred got injured at a music festival, Astroworld, created by the rapper Travis Scott. The youngest victim was only nine years old. Travis is facing various lawsuits, but is it enough?
What Is Astroworld?
Astroworld was in its third edition when this horrible event happened. When it was almost time for Travis’ concert to begin, the crowd started to push and surge people towards the stage, which made the people who were in the front be compressed against the bars that separated the crowd and the stage. This is called ‘crowd crush’. Many people that survived presented health problems due to the lack of oxygen – there was no space between people to breathe. Some said that the barricades, meant to separate different ticket holders, actually prevented people from being able to escape. The frenzy was such that a lot of people after they were able to get out, had symptoms of heart attacks.
Some claim that Scott didn’t stop the show even though it was happening in front of him. And some say that he actually stopped a few times and tried to help, but was unaware of the degree of what was happening. After Astroworld, various videos resurged of singers fully stopping their show and refusing to continue until someone helped a person who was not feeling well – which they spotted in the crowd. So, it is a bit hard to understand why Scott didn’t do the same.
Is This The First Time Violent Things Happened In Travis Scott’s Shows?
Actually, no. The rapper has a history of people getting hurt in his shows, and on some occasions urging his fans to do things that can be considered dangerous. In 2017 he encouraged a fan to jump from a second-floor balcony. A fan was paralyzed in the same show from being pushed from a third-floor balcony.
How was the environment before the show?
Just as aggressive. A week before the show fans knocked down metal detectors and shifted the barricades location in the venue. Mycah Hatfield, a reporter for ABC, tweeted a video showing how the fans were behaving when arriving at the show’s venue.
“As we were arriving to the Astroworld Festival at NRG Park right at 2:00, a stampede burst through the gates. Hundreds of people destroyed the VIP security entrance, bypassing the checkpoint. People were trampled. Some were detained.”
What were the consequences?
Travis is facing 2 billion in lawsuits. From concertgoers, the family of the victims, and some people that were working on the show. He has offered to pay for the victims’ funeral. He also has a partnership with a company called BetterHelp and is supplying a month of free one-on-one sessions of therapy for the ones involved. The partnership received a huge backlash, and since then the company has clarified that Scott is not gaining any monetary recompensation for the partnership. However, that is about it. The rapper has not lost a single sponsorship or deal. Nike only delayed his new Jordan coming this year in respect of the victims. Yes, delayed. Not canceled their partnership or anything like that. Nike has not even announced that it was something they were considering.
Kylie, who is currently dating the rapper, has faced a lot of backlash for posting a video of the show. The video was of her view from a comfortable seat in a VIP tower. In the video, you can see the ambulances trying to get through the crowd. She and Travis apologized, but it goes to show the lack of sensibility that celebrities display constantly.
Also, the coverage of the festival and what is happening now has dropped to almost nothing. The media is more worried about Kim Kardashian’s, Kylie Jenner’s sister, alleged romance with comedian Pete Davidson than continuing to remind people of what happened and that there are a lot of families grieving.
Conclusion
What happened in Astroworld is unacceptable. And the fact that nothing major has happened to the rapper’s career is simply unbelievable. There need to be unparalleled consequences when a nine-year-old dies at your concert – that being directly your fault or not. It’s shocking what people are willing to forgive and forget for a musician.
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