Travis Scott breaks silence on Astroworld tragedy

Travis Scott has made his first public statement on the Astroworld tragedy in more than two years.

Ten concertgoers, aged between nine and 27, died following a crowd surge during Scott’s headline set at the 50,000-cap festival in Houston, Texas, on 5 November 2021.

“I always think about it,” said the rapper in a new interview with GQ. “Those fans were like my family. I love my fans to the utmost.

“It has its moments where it gets rough. You just feel for those people. And their families.”

In June it was announced that no criminal charges would be filed over the tragedy. Scott’s only previous public statement on the disaster was made via his social media accounts in the days following the festival, where he spoke of his devastation.

“I’m absolutely devastated by what took place,” he said in an Instagram video. “My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened.

“Anytime I can make out anything that’s going on, I stop the show and help them get the help they need. I could just not imagine the severity of the situation.”

Scott was quizzed by lawyers for several hours in September over hundreds of lawsuits filed against him and others in the wake of the festival

Scott was quizzed for several hours in September over hundreds of lawsuits that were filed against him and others in the wake of the festival. The civil deposition, which lasted nearly eight hours, took place in Houston, and marked the first time the rapper was questioned by lawyers over the festival.

Lawyers and others connected to the civil lawsuits are under a gag order, preventing them from saying little beyond what happens during court hearings.

Rolling Stone reports that Drake, who appeared on stage at Astroworld as a special guest during Scott’s set, was also questioned  in a deposition tied to the hundreds of lawsuits filed in relation to the crowd crush. Drake has been named in multiple suits alongside Scott, promoters Live Nation and Austin-based subsidiary Scoremore, and Apple, which livestreamed the event, but maintains he had no part in the organisation of the show.

Almost 5,000 people have claimed they were injured in the disaster, with lawsuits filed in each of the 24 district courts in Harris County. Nearly every claim alleges negligence such as “failures of safety and security rules, crowd control and emergency response measures, and failures to provide adequate security, supervision, training and care”.

According to Chron, two fresh lawsuits, representing more than 40 plaintiffs combined, were filed just last month, each seeking $1 million damages.

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