Travis Scott has been sued over the Astroworld Festival tragedy that left eight people dead.
Thousands of fans showed up for the two-day event in Houston, Texas on Friday, which resulted in multiple casualties and eight fatalities after a crowd surge.
According to a lawsuit obtained by E! News, rapper Travis, as well as the entertainment company Live Nation and organizers ScoreMore and ASM Global, are being sued by concertgoer Manuel Souza.
The lawsuit, which was filed on Saturday in Harris County District Court, claimed the tragic event was “predictable and preventable”.
It alleges that the defendants would “ensure a safe, secure, and positive environment” for everyone in attendance, but that a “motivation for profit at the expense of concertgoers’ health and safety, and due to their encouragement of violence, at least 8 people lost their lives and scores of others were injured at what was supposed to be a night of fun.”
According to the court documents, Manuel “suffered serious bodily injuries when the uncontrolled crowd at the concert knocked him to the ground and trampled him.”
The lawsuit states the “plaintiff’s injuries were the inevitable and predictable result of defendants’ conscious disregard of the extreme risks of harm to concertgoers that had been escalating since hours earlier.”
Manuel’s attorney, Steve Kherkher of the firm Kherkher Garcia, said to E! News in a statement: “As proud residents of Houston, we are sickened by the devastating tragedy that took place on Friday night…[Travis Scott] and those who promoted and supported this concert must take responsibility for their heinous actions.”
Concertgoer Kristian Paredes also filed a lawsuit against Travis and Live Nation, in addition to Drake and Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation, citing negligence.
According to the lawsuit obtained by the publication, Drake allegedly “came on stage alongside Travis Scott and helped incite the crowd,” and “the crowd became chaotic and a stampede began leaving eight dead and dozens including Kristian Paredes severely injured.”
Goss.ie have contacted Travis and Drake’s reps for comment.
A day after the tragic event, Travis paid tribute to those who lost their lives at his concert in a statement shared on Twitter.
He wrote: “I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival.”
“Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life. I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need.”
“Thank you to Houston PD, Fire Department and NRG Park for their immediate response and support. Love You All.”
— TRAVIS SCOTT (@trvisXX) November 6, 2021
During a press conference on Friday night, Houston fire chief Samuel Pena said: “We had at least eight confirmed fatalities tonight and scores of individuals that were injured.”
“At around 9 or 9:15, the crowd began to compress toward the front of the stage and that caused panic and people were getting injured. Houston Fire Department transported 17 people to hospitals.”
Mr Pena said 11 of those transported to the hospital were in cardiac arrest.
Houston firefighters respond to multiple people reportedly passing away at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Fest. Several cases of cardiac arrest were reported. pic.twitter.com/zOUlrgRhgp
— Rap Alert (@rapalert4) November 6, 2021
During the press conference, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said: “I think it’s very important that none of us speculate. Nobody has all the answers tonight.”
“We’re going to do an investigation and find out because it’s not fair to the producers, to anybody else involved, until we determine what happened, what caused the surge. We don’t know, but we will find out.”
The second day of the music festival was subsequently cancelled.
