Travis Scott Faces Accusations of Violating Astroworld Festival Lawsuits Gag Order
Astroworld
Travis Scott Delivers First Performance Since Astroworld Fest Tragedy at Private Pre-Oscars Party
Travis Scott’s Legal Team Responds to Astroworld Victim’s Family Asking Judge to Take Action Over Project HEAL
One Astroworld Victim’s Family Didn’t Appreciate Kanye’s Billie Eilish Apology Demand
At least one Astroworld Festival victim’s family didn’t appreciate their loved one being used as a prop by Kanye West when the volatile star demanded an apology from Billie Eilish on behalf of Travis Scott, calling Ye’s comments “hurtful” and “ridiculous,” according to Rolling Stone.
Bernon Blount, whose nine-year-old grandson Ezra Blount was the youngest victim of the crowd crush at Astroworld that left nine others dead and hundreds injured, said, “To hear Kanye’s words, that’s hurtful to us. What an idiotic thing to say.” Ezra’s grandmother Tericia Blount also had words for Kanye, saying, “I think it’s just crazy, and I hate to use that word, but I think it’s ridiculous. She’s making sure that she is caring for the patrons at her concert, and I just think that’s crazy of Kanye to even let that demand come out of his mouth.”
Eilish issued the statement for which Kanye demanded an apology at one of her recent shows, stopping performing until a distressed fan received medical attention. Explaining to impatient concert attendees why she wasn’t performing, she said, “We’re taking care of our people. I’m waiting for people to be OK until I keep going.” Reporting on the incident, some outlets interpreted her comment as a dig at Travis Scott, who reportedly continued performing during the crowd crush, at least 30 minutes after authorities declared a mass casualty event.
Kanye, taking his cue from one of those outlets — a gossip Instagram page that simply framed Billie’s statement as a straight-up diss — posted his all-caps apology demand on Instagram, threatening to cancel his upcoming Coachella headlining set otherwise. In response, Eilish commented, “Literally never said a thing about Travis. Was just helping a fan.”
The Blounts appear to be taking Eilish’s side in the disagreement, with Bernon telling Rolling Stone, “That’s crazy that he wants someone to apologize for putting the welfare of someone else before their profits. That’s someone who needed their asthma pump. They could have lost their life, right then. This world is twisted, and we have to stop doing this.” Terecia echoed this sentiment, saying, “I totally commend Billie Eilish for having that decency about her. I think what she did was wonderful, and I would love to tell her myself how brilliant and awesome she is for doing so.”
Billie Eilish Interrupted Her Show To Help A Fan, And Seemed To Shade Travis Scott In The Process
Billie Eilish just recently kicked off the tour behind her new album, Happier Than Ever — as in, three days ago recently — but she is of course already making headlines. The young pop star has already been known to keep things incredibly real with her fans, and the general public, and seems to be hyper aware of her own role when it comes to checking in on the safety and health of her fans at shows.
At a concert in Atlanta on Sunday night, Eilish interrupted her entire set to make sure a fan got the inhaler she needed, instructing her security to bring one from backstage. TMZ has footage of her (above) seemingly addressing last year’s tragedy at Astroworld, saying “I wait for people to be okay before I keep going.” She calmed the rest of the crowded auditorium while that fan recovered, and got huge cheers for her statement.
The issue at Astroworld was that Travis Scott kept performing, allegedly oblivious, while nine fans were trampled to death. Obviously, that’s a nightmarish situation even if Scott was totally unaware of it happening, but it seems very unlikely anything of that nature could happen at an Eilish concert.
Though Billie followed up her debut album incredibly quickly, releasing her second record only two years later, rumor has it she’s already back in the studio again, working on yet another new album. Now that’s dedication.
All Of The Astroworld Lawsuits Have Officially Been Combined Into One Case
With nearly 400 suits filed against the Astroworld Festival organizers Live Nation and Travis Scott, the Texas Judicial Panel On Multidistrict Litigation has officially agreed to combine the suits into one case under the state’s multidistrict litigation process. Both plaintiffs and defendants wanted to combine the cases for simplicity. The new case will include at least 387 separate lawsuits with almost 2,800 alleged victims, with nearly $3 billion at stake. The suits argue that Live Nation and Travis Scott were negligent in the planning and execution of the festival.
According to Billboard, there was at least one hold-out, Brent Coon & Associates, that “argued in December the process was unnecessary” but fell in line with the rest. The case could also include additional “tag-along cases” that were filed later, with some victims dropping cases during litigation.
Live Nation and Travis Scott were sued in the wake of the Astroworld Festival when eight people were killed and nearly 300 others were injured by a crowd crush during Travis’ first-day closing set. Members of the crowd were suffocated and trampled as Travis reportedly performed for nearly 40 minutes after a mass casualty event had been declared by authorities. Two more victims died from their injuries after the festival, including one as young as 14 years old.
Travis Scott Returned To Instagram To Tease His Next Project, ‘Utopia,’ With Some Headphones
The end of 2021 turned nightmarish for Travis Scott after his signature Astroworld festival led to the deaths of nine people, including a nine-year-old boy who was trampled to death. A crowd surge when Drake showed up to the festival resulted in the stampede, and security was unable to handle the surges. Since the tragedy, Travis has made it clear he didn’t know what was happening at the time, and tried to make things right by helping families with the funeral costs — but many have refused.
The rapper has been mostly laying low on social media since the event, but is apparently going forward with working on his Utopia album while the ongoing lawsuits for Astroworld are mounting. Last week, one of his producers let fans know that Travis was still working on the project, and he all but confirmed that last night in a series of posts on his Instagram story.
Along with a contemplative beach shot (he was reportedly in Cabo working on the record, according to his producer Wheezy), Scott also shared photos of what looks like customized Utopia headphones, a pretty clear sign that the album is definitely in the works, and possibly close to done. It will be interesting to see how new music goes down with fans following the festival’s tragic situation. Check out the photos below.
Travis Scott’s Planned Cactus Jack Collaboration With Dior Has Been Postponed ‘Indefinitely’
In the wake of the tragedy at the Astroworld Festival this past November, Travis Scott, the face of the fest, has come under scrutiny for his role in the deaths of ten people during and following a crowd crush during his headlining set. As a result, a number of his business partnerships have come to an end, including his Cactus Jack seltzer collaboration with Anheuser-Busch, while he’s been dropped from festivals like Coachella in the weeks since. Today, Travis’ brand was dealt another blow, according to Women’s Wear Daily.
In a statement to WWD, luxury fashion house Dior, which had planned a capsule collection collaboration with Travis’ Cactus Jack label, announced that the collaboration has been put on hold for the foreseeable future. “Out of respect for everyone affected by the tragic events at Astroworld, Dior has decided to postpone indefinitely the launch of products from the Cactus Jack collaboration originally intended to be included in its summer 2022 collection,” the statement reads. According to WWD, the collection would have been the brand’s first with a musician, as well as the first time it would allow its logo to be altered. From the looks of things, the brand will likely think twice before signing on for another collaboration, no matter how big the artist’s footprint happens to be.
Until Astroworld, Travis had one of the biggest footprints in music, with partnerships with McDonald’s, Nike, Sony PlayStation, and more elevating a personal brand that was rapidly becoming inescapable. However, with the deaths at Astroworld Fest still fresh in the minds of both businesses and fans, Travis’ immediate future has become uncertain, and a slew of lawsuits could change his fortunes in a hurry.
Travis Scott’s Cactus Jack Foundation Hosted Their Second Annual Toy Drive In Houston
After tragedy struck at Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival earlier this year, the rapper has been laying low, trying to help the families of victims (who sometimes refused) and investigate how the situation turned so deadly that nine people lost their lives. Congress has also opened up their own investigation into the event, while Live Nation is reportedly trying force staff to sign liability waivers post-event.
For his part, Scott joined a committee devoted to making concerts safer, and has only done one interview since the event, which a lawyer for one of the victims critiqued.
Since every move he makes gets criticized, it’s commendable that Scott and his Cactus Jack Foundation did decide to continue their toy drive, hosting the second annual event yesterday. In a post to the account Instagram about the event, the Houston-based charitable foundation kept things very simple: “Cactus Jack Foundation Second Annual Toy Drive is open now. 1 toy per child, first come first serve. Southeast Community Church. 10413 Ashville, Houston 77051. 3-5 pm.”
None of this negates the fact that almost 3,000 lawsuits have been brought against Scott and Live Nation after the event, though there’s a chance they will all be combined into a single case. Still, it’s nice that he decided to spread Christmas cheer for some families in need.
Congress Is Investigating Live Nation’s Role In The Astroworld Tragedy
Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino received an open letter this morning from Congress asking to talk and provide documents about the Astroworld tragedy. In the letter from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Representatives said that “We are deeply saddened by the deaths that occurred at Astroworld Festival and are committed to investigating what went wrong to inform possible reforms that could prevent future tragedies.”
It’s the next wrinkle in the aftermath of the devastating Astroworld crowd control incident on November 5th that led to 10 attendees losing their lives. Live Nation was the promoter of the event along with Travis Scott and they’ve already raised eyebrows this week for news that they reportedly tried to get part-time staff at the festival to sign liability waivers after the fact. Here are the questions that Congress is seeking to get answers from Rapino and LiveNation about the event:
1. Please provide a narrative detailing the roles and responsibilities for Astroworld
Festival, including, but not limited to, venue security, crowd control,mass
casualty incident planning, emergency communications, and medical care,
between Live Nation Entertainment, its subsidiaries, partners, and subcontractors;2. Describe any pre-show security assessments, planning, and briefings conducted
by Live Nation Entertainment or its partners, subsidiaries, or subcontractors,
including any details regarding any safety concerns raised prior to the
performance;3. Please provide details regarding Live Nation Entertainment’s actions in response
to same-day reports of fans breaking through security barriers;4. What precise time was Live Nation Entertainment first made aware of casualties
on the evening of November 5, and what steps were taken in response to that
information;5. What precise time was Live Nation Entertainment first made aware that law
enforcement had declared the event a “mass casualty event,” and what actions did
Live Nation Entertainment take between that report and the performance’s
termination at approximately 10:10 p.m.;6. Please share your assessment of the cause of the stampede and whether it could
have been prevented;7. Please address reports that Live Nation has withheld pay from Astroworld
employees until they have signed revised employment contracts that release Live
Nation from liability; and8. What steps does Live Nation plan to take to prevent another injury or death at a
promoted or held event.
What happened at Astroworld was an inexcusable, colossal fail that someone has to be liable for. It looks as though Congress not only wants to address that liability, but they also want to outline steps so that something of this nature never happens again.
You can read Congress’ open letter in full here via TMZ.