What was supposed to be the best night of their lives, ended up being the last night of their lives. This was the case for at least 10 of the victims that passed away that night at the Astroworld festival, one of them being as young as 9 years old. The festival, which was to be held annually, was supposed to be the event of the year with lots of Travis Scott fans ready to party in support of their favorite rapper. Their excitement had been growing due to the cancellation of the festival last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and as November 5 neared, supporters were ready to exert the energy that was building up. Taking advantage of the most highly anticipated event of the year, Travis and his team made sure to promote the event as an unforgettable experience, in which he succeeded in the most gruesome manner.
In no time, Travis Scott had managed to sell out and hype up his audience. What was not taken into consideration, however, was the enforcement of safety measures. It has been predicted that the event had an audience of around 50,000 people, some of which were so excited to get the chance to feel the music, that they pushed through security at large numbers that made it impossible to stop the determined crowd. They went as far as jumping over fences and using bolt cutters to enter the concert. As the timer set to begin, more and more people pushed together into what would later begin the stampedes of death, where people would be so squished together that they could not even breathe. You could imagine the cries for help as bodies began falling, but as news reports and survivors note, close to nothing was done to stop the concert and help the victims.
As of right now, there have been over 280 lawsuits filed against Travis Scott and those involved, which include Drake, Apple Music, and Live Nation which are expected to cost them over $2 billion dollars. After the festival, Travis Scott made an apology video in which he was criticized for not sounding genuine and trying to cover up his mishandling with his money. Fans who mean the world to him according to his apology video were also the same fans who he put at risk in order to increase profits. Having that said, let’s talk about some of the other reasons in how this festival was promoted. This is where Apple Music gets involved. Apple Music’s involvement in the lawsuit was their role in promoting the Astroworld festival as well as responsible for their placing of equipment at the concert to broadcast, which ended up blocking many exits for the concertgoers.
Live Nation is being held accountable most importantly for the lack of security measures. It is also important to note that this is not their first time being accused of safety violations, which include the lives of hundreds of people in the last 15 years. Even though Live Nation ended up making the decision to end the show early, it had already been too late, and they had failed to execute their command. Drake and Travis Scott are last on the list and they are also responsible for not having ensured the safety of their audience. What was found most peculiar about the concert was the resemblance of their songs being played into the crowd. One contradicting statement at the end of the show, was when Travis finished off by telling his fans to go home safely.
Every victim from that night wished they had gotten the chance to have gotten home safely and many tried their best to leave the violent crowd, with some using their last breath in order to do so. The victims’ loved ones wished they had gotten the chance too and along with those who survived, they are working to ensure that an atrocity like this never happens again. The lawsuits that have been filed are expected to be filed together as a whole in order to be reviewed as a single case by a single judge, and law experts believe that the best shot Travis Scott and those involved in the case are to settle. The price has been predicted to amount to over $2 billion dollars, but that number has yet to be confirmed. The settlement might be able to be dropped down but not drastically.
Regardless, no amount of money can be paid in order to console the survivors and family and friends of those whose lives were lost. Words also have no means of consolation, mistakes happen, but mistakes should not occur as a result of death. Even though both Travis Scott and Drake stated that they had no idea of the torture their fans were experiencing, they are still being held responsible because of the actions they could have taken beforehand in order to ensure a safe environment. Survivors of the atrocity report more than just physical injuries like brain and spinal injuries, but are also struggling with the trauma of seeing dead bodies being trampled on, medics trying to rescue lives, and the guilt of not being able to help out more people as they could.
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