Travis Scott’s legal team files motion in Houston court seeking dismissal from lawsuits related to the deadly Astroworld crowd rush, arguing that the rapper was not responsible for event safety and crowd management.
Travis Scott, the rapper and performer at the Astroworld festival where a deadly crowd surge occurred, is seeking to be dismissed from the numerous lawsuits tied to the tragic incident.
According to a motion filed in a Houston court on Monday, April 1, 2024, Scott’s attorneys assert that their client should not be held accountable for event safety and crowd management.
Ten people died and hundreds of others were injured at the concert in Houston, Texas, in 2023, after the crowd surged towards the stage.
In his first interview about the tragedy, Scott said he was “overly devastated” by the loss of life. “I always think about it,” he told GQ magazine. “Those fans were like my family.”
Citing a report from Rolling Stone, Travis Scott’s attorneys argue that performers like Scott are not expected to provide special protection to the audience or safeguard them from crowd-related dangers.
They claim that responsibility for venue security, operations, and site layout lies with other parties, not the performers.
The motion for dismissal comes a little over two years after the Astroworld tragedy, which resulted in the deaths of 10 people and severe injuries to several others during Scott’s performance in November 2021.
In the motion filed by his lawyer, Daniel Petrocelli, it is asserted that evidence demonstrates the rapper, singer and songwriter, and his team were not responsible for venue security or operations, and even if they were, they acted diligently to protect against foreseeable dangers.
Petrocelli argues that promoting and performing at a concert do not grant control over crowd behavior or venue safety.
The motion further states: “No one disputes that tragedy struck the Astroworld Festival,” but notes that imposing liability on Travis Scott for a tragedy arising from factors controlled by others would contradict basic tort principles.
Attorneys for Drake, another performer at the event, has made similar claims.
Travis Scott’s legal team’s efforts to be dismissed from the Astroworld lawsuits sets the stage for a complex legal battle about the tragic event when trial starts on May 6, 2024.
