Rapper Travis Scott hosted his own music festival in Houston earlier this month. However, things went sideways fast, and at least nine attendees died as a result. So, who’s responsible for this tragedy? Should Travis Scott be held criminally liable, or is there another person to blame?
What Happened?
For the last few years, Houston native Travis Scott has hosted his music festival called “Astroworld,” named after a defunct amusement part Scott went to as a child. This year, tickets sold out in seconds, but that didn’t stop hundreds of people from rushing the gates and getting into the festival.
According to most accounts, there were less than ten security guards at each entrance – not enough to effectively stop those jumping the gates. Things continued to go from bad to worse as Scott began to perform.
Thousands of attendees pushed toward the stage in a phenomenon called “crowd crush,” where crowds of people push against each other and literally suck the oxygen out of the air. When this happens, people can pass out, fracture bones, and dehydrate quickly. One of the worst things that can occur during a crowd crush is falling – if someone falls, they are at a very high risk of being trampled to death.
Less than halfway through the festival, concert-goers were climbing on stage, begging Scott to stop because someone had died. At this point, Travis Scott had already stopped the music once to encourage the audience to make way for an ambulance driving into the crowd to help wounded attendees.
However, the festival continued until Scott finished his set and people began to leave the venue.
Who’s Responsible?
The big question about Astroworld is who’s at fault. It’s important to understand that music festivals like this one have countless moving parts and people responsible for making the festival happen. The artist is only one part of the overall picture, but they also carry a portion of the responsibility. That said, is Travis at fault for the nine deaths at Astroworld?
The short answer: no.
The long answer: Not exactly.
There are several elements to this tragic event that caused the deaths of nine people and injured hundreds:
- Overselling tickets
- Inadequate security
- Scott’s history of encouraging riots/dangerous activities at his events
- Lack of communication
At least three of the four factors listed above are the responsibility of Live Nation, a massive entertainment conglomerate who facilitated ticket sales, event logistics, scheduling, staffing, first aid, and communications.
From the videos taken at the concert, we can see that Travis knew that at least one person had died but continued to perform. We also know that hundreds of people tried to get the attention of staff members to get help. Both of these details point to an issue with communication, but does that remove responsibility from Scott?
What Happens Now?
Houston law enforcement is investigating the deaths, and Scott has already agreed to give money to the families of those who passed. However, the general public is still pointing fingers at Travis. At this point, there’s little that law enforcement can do besides charging Scott with inciting a riot (again) and investigating the situation.
It’s clear that Live Nation played no small part in this tragedy, but it’s nearly impossible to hold big companies accountable for something like this.
The criminal investigation will continue, and most of us will continue to have our questions unanswered.