Travis Scott is still facing backlash from the Astroworld Festival tragedy but he’s attempting to prevent a similar situation from unfolding in the future. This week, he announced Project Heal — a $5M initiative aimed towards increasing public safety at large-scale events, including festivals like Astroworld Fest.
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At least one family has objected to Scott’s latest attempt at positive press. Per TMZ, the family of Ezra Blount filed a motion in court to amend the judge-approved gag order on Scott to further discuss the Astroworld Fest tragedy in any manner. The 9-year-old victim’s mother and father made the request to the judge to stop Travis from making similar announcements in the future as they feel it could form a bias within the potential jurors.
Treston Blount, Ezra’s father, said the Project HEAL announcement was a “highly sophisticated marking campaign” that directly targeted media in Harris County, Texas, where the jury will be selected. Described as a “look at me” press release, Blount’s attorney claim faced pushback from Scott’s lawyer, who said that Project HEAL was simply another initiative launched by Scott to give back to his team.
Blount’s family wants the judge to either block everyone in the case — lawyers included — from speaking publicly on the trial in order to prevent any influence on the jury or lift the gag order entirely.
The comments from Ezra’s parents come just a day after the victim’s grandparents spoke out against Scott’s Project HEAL initiative which they similarly felt was a media ploy that could sway the jury.