Several large lawsuits have been filed against rapper Travis Scott after the tragedy at his Astroworld music festival, which left 10 dead and dozens injured. Caused by a powerful crowd surge, attendees have stories of some being trampled in the crowd and nearly drowning in a sea of people.
Initially, the event was thought to have taken the lives of eight people, but in the weeks after two more people have died from wounds relating to Astroworld. ABC13 reported on the latest two deaths, with them being 22-year-old Bharti Shahani and 9-year-old Ezra Blount.
In the article, ABC13 interviewed Blount’s father who described how he was carrying his son on his shoulders before being knocked unconscious by the crowd surge. His son then received life threatening injuries from being trampled. Both the boy and Shahani were on life support for several days before succumbing to their injuries.
These tragic deaths, along with the many injuries have led to lawsuits being filed against Travis Scott and his collaborators. The largest of these lawsuits seeks over $2 billion in damages, according to an article published by CNN. Filed on behalf of 280 of the attendees, this lawsuit claims that Scott, in tandem with companies tied to Astroworld like Apple Music, willingly cut corners and are responsible for failing to keep concertgoers safe. CNN attempted to contact the defendants, but they did not respond to these claims. Another of the over 140 filed suits comes from the family of victim Axel Acosta Avila and 124 others who are making similar claims to the other case.
Since his previous public statements on Astroworld, Scott has been quiet on social media and has made little public appearances since the incident. Even his partner, Kylie Jenner, stayed away from social media for several weeks after the event. It is obvious that this tragedy will shape the future of the rapper’s career, but to what extent remains to be seen.
Alex Cutler
Reporter