Besides being a tragic event, Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival is a public relations nightmare for the 30-year-old rap star. Eight people lost their lives as the massive crowd surged towards the NRG Park stage on Friday night.
Several Astroworld Festival attendees already filed lawsuits against Travis Scott and others including, the show’s special guest Drake. Scott’s reputation also took a major hit following his two statements about the catastrophe. Some people suggested he came off as indifferent or unemotional in his video apology.
The Houston-bred entertainer will likely catch more backlash as a result of an article on TMZ. The entertainment news outlet reports Travis Scott attended a Drake-hosted party at Dave & Buster’s following the Astroworld Festival.
“Travis didn’t know the severity of the situation when he arrived at the party, as far as timing, this remains consistent with the fact that no one including the police had publicly confirmed the gravity of the events that had taken place,” a source told TMZ.
HPD Says The Festival Was Declared A “Mass Casualty Event” As Travis Scott Was Still On Stage
Travis Scott supposedly being unaware of the hundreds of injuries that occurred at the concert contradicts the Houston Police Department’s statements. According to Houston Police Chief Troy Finner, Scott’s headlining set continued for a full 40 minutes after officials declared the festival a “mass casualty event.”
Critics also began pointing out Travis Scott’s alleged history of encouraging violence and misbehavior at his concerts. Scott pled guilty in two separate criminal cases over the last six years.
Travis Scott was sentenced to one year of court supervision after pleading guilty to reckless conduct charges connected to a 2015 incident at Chicago’s Lollapalooza music festival. Two years later, Scott took a plea deal for a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge following an arrest on suspicion of inciting a riot in Arkansas.
Old Footage & Posts Of Travis Scott Allegedly Inciting Chaos Resurface
In addition, TMZ ran a story showing other moments when Travis Scott essentially glorified concertgoers getting injured at his shows or calling for his followers to cause “chaos.” There are multiple videos titled “TRAVIS SCOTT BEST RAGE MOMENTS” on YouTube.
Plus, Instagram posts resurfaced where Scott praised fans that “raged” while he was performing. One photo featured a man seemingly passed out on the ground. Scott’s caption for that image read, “TO THE KID THAT DIDN’T SURVIVE THE RODEO. UR A HERO IN [MY] BOOK.”
27-year-old Mirza Baig, 23-year-old Rodolfo Peña, 23-year-old Madison Dubiski, 21-year-old Franco Patiño, 21-year-old Axel Acosta Avila, 20-year-old Jacob Jurinke, 16-year-old Brianna Rodriguez, and 14-year-old John Hilgert were killed during the Astroworld Festival disaster. 9-year-old Ezra Blount is currently in a coma after being diagnosed with brain swelling.
