At least eight people have died and 300 hundred were injureddue to crowd surges this weekend at a Houston-based music festival called Astroworld. It’s estimated that 50,000 people attended.It was the third annual festival run and headlined by rapper Travis Scott.
Scott released a video in response to the tragedy saying he plans to cover the funeral costs of those who died. Butlawsuits are still piling up against the artist for “negligence and encouragement of violence.”
And it’s not the first time the artist, sometimes called hip hop’s “King of Rage,” has come under fire for fan casualties at his concerts.In 2017, a man named Kyle Green was paralyzed after he jumped off a balcony at a Travis Scott show. His lawyer spoke to Rolling Stone and said Kyle “is even more incensed by the fact that it could have been avoided had Travis learned his lesson in the past.”
So how will this tragedy affect Scott’s image now? And what responsibility does an artist have in crowd control?
Copyright 2021 WAMU 88.5