Aftershocks of the Astroworld Concert

Emily Wong

Travis Scott and Drake are devastated after this mass casualty tragedy and are being fined with a total of almost $2 Billion

Nidhay Mahavadi, Staff Writer

According to kysdc.com, Travis Scott and Drake are facing several lawsuits on behalf of approximately 282 plaintiffs who experienced this mass casualty where the crowd had a stampede and many deaths occurred, first hand, for the mass casualty that occurred at Astroworld Concert Festival. Scott and Drake are receiving major backlash from the concert up till this day. As we know, the tragedy did not take place too long ago, and his fans claim that his reaction wasn’t competent enough for what took place. On Nov. 17, 2021, Travis Scott, Drake, and the companies that organized Astroworld were being targeted by the lawsuit (news.yahoo.com). 

Lawyer Thomas J. Henry put out a statement about the event, stating, “The defendants stood to make an exorbitant amount of money off of this event, and they still chose to cut corners, cut costs, and put attendees at risk. My clients want to ensure the defendants are held responsible for their actions, and they want to send the message to all performers, event organizers, and promoters that what happened at Astroworld cannot happen again.”

In this lawsuit, well-known technology company Apple is also getting a lot of heat. The lawsuit stated, “‘Apple Music had cameras, camera stands, cameramen, and metal barriers surrounding each; these cameras effectively split the premises both horizontally and vertically by the metal barricades. The placement of cameras streaming for Apple Music’s broadcast effectively limited many concertgoers’ means of exit; this dangerous condition would inevitably prevent individuals from dispersing.” Apple has yet to respond to this. 

As furthermore information is being gained on the topic, it leaves one question. Who is responsible? Since this tragedy took place, Scott and his family have also been shocked.  

According to yahoo!news, a source claims that “Kylie has been devastated by the tragedy at Astroworld and has been doing everything she can to support Travis in all the emotions he is dealing with on a day-to-day basis.”

Rishabh Menon, a student at DVHS and a fan of Travis Scott, states, “I agree that Travis Scott should take some responsibility for his actions, it [the concert] spiraled way out of control and Scott should be more aware of what is taking place around him. [Although] at the same time, fans are making it seem like he did this intentionally.”

There are many rumors scattered all across the internet after this event. According to newsweek.com, “While events that occurred at Astroworld festival in Texas over the weekend have been widely described as ‘hellish’ by attendees, a number of conspiracy theories have cropped up which claim that the concert was some sort of ‘blood sacrifice.’” 

@arianaaporras on Twitter tweets, “travis scott literally shows himself as a demon in his new album cover… that whole astroworld was set up as a sacrifice ritual and no one will change my mind about that.”

Although this might have been just one concert that went wrong, this might affect the reputations of the companies and artists that hosted/performed at this event. Many are being filed under lawsuits and Scott might have lost this alliance with Apple, Nike, and other major companies. 

Nike and Travis Scott came to a decision of releasing the Air Max 1 x Cactus Jack prior to the concert. (knpr.org). However, as stated in a Forbes article, Nike announced that “Out of respect for everyone impacted by the tragic events at the Astroworld Festival, we are postponing the launch of the Air Max 1 x Cactus Jack.”

“My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival,” Scott tweets, “ I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need.”