The Tragedies of Astroworld and Travis Scott's Past
Tragedy struck on Friday, November 5th in Houston, Texas during Travis Scott's annual music festival, Astroworld, resulting in 10 fatalities and hundreds of casualties. Scott has been holding this festival annually since November of 2018 until the 2020 performance was cancelled due to COVID-19. Scott invited multiple artists to perform such as Roddy Rich, SZA, Master P, Don Toliver, Metro Boomin, and BIA. Over 50,000 people attended this festival and will carry the trauma of the event for the rest of their lives.
Hours before the disaster, security was overwhelmed with large amounts of people trying to get in the venue. People were climbing over fences, knocking over metal detectors, and creating huge deficiencies in security measures. Those who were entering the venue late afternoon were listening to hours of waiting music. Those who attended the event said that it caused multiple people to faint and get sick almost as if the music was nauseating. At around 9pm, a 30 minute timer began to indicate Scotts performance time. Due to the anticipation of his appearance, people began to rush toward the front, where they were forced to be shoulder-to-shoulder. As the concert began, fans were pushing toward the front of the stage causing waves of people to fall on eachother. As they compressed, many attendees were fainting due to lack of oxygen and space. As people were falling and fainting, the audience was still pushing causing those who were on the floor to be trampled and potentially killed. By 9:38pm, this Astroworld was declared a mass casualty event.
The crowd was continuously trying to get the event shut down with chants and screams. but Scott only stopped a total of two times. The first time, he stopped his performance briefly to get help for someone who had fainted, then continued his performance swiftly. The second time, he acknowledged the chants of people in the crowd and quickly brushed them off and continued his show. Videos are surging all over social media of attendees trying to get attention from camera crew and the audience to help stop the event, but nothing was working.
One EMT who worked the event went on to TikTok to reveal the horrors medics experienced due to the hundreds of people fainting and being injured. He explains that every medic was qualified and efficient, but there just weren’t enough medics to thoroughly help the injured. He reveals that he had to leave multiple people claiming to have serious injuries in order to find and tend those who were unconscious. CPR was being performed all over the crowd as well bodies taken in bags and stretchers. Medics had their own difficulties getting in and out of the crowd due to the lack of “concert etiquette” shown by the audience which just continued to cause chaos. Police and ambulances were called but they were lost to the huge crowds as well as the fans who climbed on top of the cars just to dance.
Attendees, fans, and really anyone who is aware of what occurred at this event is furious at Scott for continuing his performance as people were suffering in the huge crowd. He and his fiance Kylie Jenner have each released apology statements in which they mention that they knew nothing of the fatalities until after the concert. However, social media is being cluttered with images and videos of the event insinuating that Scott was aware of what was occurring at the venue, and had no intentions to proritze his fans safety. There are allegations of people being injected with drugs at the festival that caused unconsciousness that is still being investigated. Multiple conspiracy theories are going around the internet that this was a “satanic ritual” and describe the show to have hell-like visuals and unsettling coincidences such as, 8 flames, an inverted cross, and other demonic symbolism that you can read about here.
Travis Scott has a long history of inciting havoc at his shows but never at this severity. On August 1, 2015, Scott was arrested for encouraging crowds to climb over security barriers at the Lollapalooza Festival. During the festival, he told his fans to rise their middle fingers up to the security, after telling the security to “get the f*ck back.” He then went on to start a chant within the audience saying, “We want rage” as people were climbing onstage with him. Fortunately no one was injured, and he was charged with disorderly conduct for which he paid a fine of $7,500. In April of 2017, Scott told one of his fans to jump off of the balcony during his concert in Manhattan, where Kyle Green was pushed off due to the crowd's excitement, leaving him paralyzed. Later on May 13, 2017, another fine was added when he performed at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in which he was charged for inciting a riot, disorderly conduct, and endangering the welfare of a minor. At this event, he encouraged attendees to bypass security which resulted in multiple injuries due to the crowds rush. And multiple other incidents in which Scott incites reckless behavior toward security.
Web-users go on to mention how he once stopped a show in 2017 after having his shoe taken and encouraged the audience to beat the fan who took it. They go on to compare his responses and are concerned as to why he didn't stop the show as easily when people were chanting and falling during this Astroworld performance.
Roddy Rich, a rapper meant to perform at the Astroworld festival, has plans to donate money to all the families with losses and Travis Scott has revealed that he will cover the funeral costs for those lost in Astroworld.
Travis Scott and Drake are currently being faced with multiple lawsuits regarding this event in order to receive justice for the victims. Astroworld is facing huge allegations that may not be fully settled until autopsies are performed.
Comments