The fallout from Travis Scott’s AstroWorld festival continues after the Houston concert left eight dead and hundreds more injured. Significant new details have come to light since November 5, when Scott’s headlining set caused the crowd of roughly 50,000 people to rush forward towards the stage.
In the days since the deadly crowd swell, many of the big stars who were in attendance have released statements (including Scott himself, Drake, and Kylie Jenner), local Texas authorities, including the state governor, have spoken about the tragedy, and the harrowing picture of what exactly transpired has become clearer.
Here’s everything that’s transpired since Friday night.
More grim details from the night continue to emerge.
When news first broke of the calamity at NRG Park, there were still plenty of unknown specifics. But since then, we’ve learned more about the festival’s planning and what transpired. Houston’s police chief, Troy Finner, claims that he spoke to Scott and his head of security prior to his performance and voiced concerns about safety. “I asked Travis Scott and his team to work with HPD for all events over the weekend and to be mindful of his team’s social media messaging on any unscheduled events,” Finner wrote.
An “event operations plan” from the festival has drawn flack for instructing staff to refer to a suspected fatality at the concert as a “smurf” instead of “dead” or “deceased.” All eight victims have been identified, and they range in age from 14-27. GoFundMe campaigns have been set up to raise money for either recovery or funeral expenses. Survivors of the crowd surge have also opened up about what they experienced in the throng of people.
“The ripple effects of the crowds going forward and backward, we were pushed onto our backs, and as that happened, people began to fall on top of us and cause it to be harder to get air and just so much weight on both of us,” Ayden Cruz told CNN.
Another attendee, Madeline Eskins, arrived at the stage with her boyfriend three hours in advance to get a good spot for Scott’s set. “As time went on, it just kept getting more crowded and more crowded,” Eskins told CNN. But then he started a countdown about 30 minutes before he performed, he started a timer on the big screen. All of a sudden, people just compressed up against each other and were pushing forward and backward. As the timer got closer to coming down to zero it got worse and worse,” she recalled. “I was having constant pressure on my chest, constant pressure on my back…I remember looking up and passing out. I was in and out for a little while.”
The most disturbing story that circulated in the aftermath, however, turned out not to be true. TMZ published a story immediately after the festival claiming that a security guard had been injected in the neck with a syringe while restraining a concertgoer, which was later corroborated by Houston’s police chief. On November 10, Chief Finner said the guard had actually been hit in the head.
“We did locate that security guard. His story’s not consistent with that,” Finner said. “He says he was struck in his head, he went unconscious, he woke up in the security tent. He says that no one injected drugs in him, so we want to clear that part up.”
According to TMZ, Scott was unaware of any deaths or mass injuries when the show ended, and attended an afterparty Drake threw at a local Dave & Buster’s.
Lawsuits and legal action against the organizers are piling up rapidly.
As of November 10, Billboard reported that 46 lawsuits have been filed against the organizers of AstroWorld. The accused include Scott, Live Nation, and Texas-based concert planner Scoremore.
Thomas J. Henry, a San Antonio-based lawyer who filed the first suit, now has more than 110 plaintiffs in his case, and speculated that the damages could ultimately reach billions of dollars. An attorney speaking to Rolling Stone said he thinks there will likely be a series of lucrative settlements for those suing.
“They all settle,” said Ronald J. Resmini. “That’s because the defense fees on these cases are exorbitant. Also, in my opinion, they are definitely liable here. They simply cannot win in court. It’s impossible. They have no argument.”
One of the most tragic lawsuits has been filed by the family of a nine-year-old child who is currently in a coma after being trampled in the crowd and suffering “severe liver, kidney, and brain damage.”
The FBI is also assisting the Houston Police Department in a criminal investigation. But a piece by The New York Times’ Houston bureau chief noted that Scott’s close relationships with leaders in the city could “[add] a layer of complication to an already freighted criminal investigation…”
Additionally, Texas governor Greg Abbott announced the formation of the Texas Task Force on Concert Safety, which he says will tackle issues “from crowd control strategies to security measures to addressing controlled substances.”
Scott’s lawyer, Edwin F. McPherson, issued a strongly worded statement criticizing the response by local authorities, specifically referencing Chief Finner by name. “There has been multiple finger-pointing, much of which has been by city officials, who have sent inconsistent messages and have backtracked from original statements,” McPherson wrote. “Houston Police Chief Troy Finner was quoted in the New York Times as saying, ‘You cannot just close when you got 50,000 and over 50,000 individuals. We have to worry about rioting, riots, when you have a group that’s that young.’ Yet, just a short time later, Chief Finner states the responsibility to stop the show falls on Travis.”
Scott and others have spoken about the tragedy publicly.
In the days since the AstroWorld disaster, many of the A-list figures who were present that night have released public statements. Travis himself shared a video on Instagram where he addressed what happened, and also canceled his November 13 headlining set at the Day N Vegas festival.
“I just want to send out prayers to the ones that were lost last night, we’re actually working right now to identify the families so we can help assist them through these tough times,” Scott said. “Anytime I can make out anything that’s going on, I stop the show and help them get the help they need. I could just never imagine the severity of the situation. We’ve been working closely with everyone to just try to get to the bottom of this.”
Scott has also announced he will be paying for the funeral costs of those who passed, and is partnering with BetterHelp, a therapy app, to offer a form of counseling to those dealing with the trauma. (Though that agreement did not come without controversy, given criticism about the quality of care provided by BetterHealth.)
Drake, who came out during Scott’s set after the deadly crush of fans, posted an apology message on November 9. “I’ve spent the past few days trying to wrap my mind around this devastating tragedy,” he wrote .”My heart is broken for the families and friends of those who lost their lives and for anyone who is suffering. I will continue to pray for all of them, and will be of service in any way I can.”
Kylie Jenner, who received criticism for taking videos of the crowd during which you could clearly see an emergency vehicle with its sirens on, shared an apology of her own on November 7. In it, she wrote that she and Travis “are broken and devastated.”
“I want to make it clear we weren’t aware of any fatalities until the news came out after the show and in no world would have continued filming or performing,” she wrote. “I am sending my deepest condolences to all the families during this difficult time and will be praying for the healing of everyone who has been impacted.”
Roddy Ricch, who performed earlier in the day on November 5, said that he will donate his full “net compensation” to the families of victims.