Tragedy at Astroworld

Travis Scott’s concert turns to disaster leaving 10 dead and hundreds injured

Miles Johnson, Staff Writer

Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival on Friday, November 5 turned into a mass casualty incident with 10 dead and nearly 300 injured. Those who died ranged from 9-27 years old and died when people rushed the stage, crushing and trampling people. There were concerns about the amount of people attending before the show started.

In response Scott has cancelled upcoming shows, refunded tickets, and put out an apology video on his Instagram. Lots of people have criticized the video for being not well thought out and lazy.

Scott has built a reputation as one of the best performers of his generation. He sells out arena after arena and it’s well known that his concerts get crazy. Part of his image now is how wild his concerts get and there are tons of viral clips that come straight from his shows.

Scott also has a history of misconduct and encouraging dangerous behavior at concerts. In 2015 someone took one of his shoes while he was crowd surfing and Scott reacted by spitting on the person and encouraging the crowd to beat him up. During another incident happening at a show in New York in 2017, a man fell from the balcony and got paralyzed. He has faced legal consequences for this behavior before including arrest and probation.

The public is split on who to blame for the tragedy. A lot of people were quick to point the finger at Scott personally considering his past behavior and since he finished the set for the night without acknowledging any of what was happening in the crowd. With the videos coming out of ambulances in the crowd and fans screaming for help from staff, fans are doubling down and placing most of the blame on Scott.

Some fans have also defended Scott saying he didn’t know what was happening. They argue that he couldn’t hear the commotion and that it looked like a normal show to Scott since there are ambulances at most shows with mosh pits. 

Regardless of whose fault it is, Scott is facing consequences as there are multiple lawsuits against him now. This was a tragedy that took 10 people’s lives, the youngest being 9 years old. This will not only change the way concerts happen across the world but change Scott’s career as a rapper and performer.