Travis Scott says he wants to heal Houston after Astroworld, but needs people to be receptive after the deadly stampede.
Travis Scott wants to heal the pain he caused in Houston after the Astroworld tragedy killed 10 people in 2021.
The Houston rapper opened up about the deadly crowd crush during a sit-down with Rolling Stone. Scott became solemn when discussing the festival disaster that happened in his hometown.
“When I did that festival, I was trying to bring something to where I’m from, and when you look back, it’s like a time that was supposed to be so enjoyable just went wrong,” Travis Scott said. “I would love to heal that in the city. But I would also want people to be receptive [to it]. I don’t want to force a reception.”
The Astroworld Festival crowd surge occurred on November 5, 2021, during Scott’s headlining performance. Ten concertgoers died from compression asphyxia after being crushed in the 50,000-person crowd. The victims ranged in age from nine to 27 years old.
Scott faces ongoing scrutiny more than four years after the tragedy. He believes people have a distorted view of who he really is.
“Through that experience, I think, there’s a distorted view of who I am and what I care about,” Scott explained. “Sometimes when I read or even hear about some of the s### that people write, I don’t even know if they believe it. I think there’s always been this distorted view of what I am. And it’s my responsibility just to keep showing what it really is.”
When asked what he would tell critics who hold him individually responsible, Travis Scott took a different approach. “I wouldn’t tell them anything. I would ask them,” he said.
All 10 wrongful death lawsuits against Scott and Live Nation have now been settled. The final case involving nine-year-old Ezra Blount was resolved in May 2024. Settlement terms remain confidential under court order.
A Houston grand jury declined to bring criminal charges against Travis Scott or other organizers in June 2023. An official investigation found festival workers sounded safety alarms during the performance, but the message failed to reach decision-makers.
A 56-page crisis response plan covered gun violence, bombings and terrorist threats. However, it contained no procedures for handling crowd surges.
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