The Aftermath of Astroworld: Death, Injuries, Lawsuits and Backlash

The horrors of Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival continue to unravel as those who were attendees at the third annual musical festival voice their experience on TikTok. Each story slightly different, but frighteningly similar, exposes the madness that ensued during the deadly overly packed concert.

“You couldn’t breathe, you couldn’t see,” a TikTok user said in his TikTok video. “Like just imagine all the people they going to find tonight who was in that crowd, who nobody could see, who nobody could hear, who passed out and everybody was just trampling on top of them the whole f**kin concert.”

Another TikTok user who attended Astroworld and was “dragged out of the pit” of the concert also retold her experience. During the video TikTok user @imanbtw highlighted the laissez-faire concert security, as well as pointed out the excessive amount of people who were able to bypass security and break into Astroworld. 

“Despite the added security at the entrance of the festival people were still able to break in,” @imanbtw said in the beginning of her video. “When we were getting checked in they didn’t check my ID or my vaccination card, the security checking me in literally told me ‘I’m only here to make sure you don’t sell your ticket, go have fun.’ When we were getting our bags checked they did not check our bag thoroughly, they didn’t even enforce the clear bag policy, security was a train-wreck.”

Towards the end of the TikTok video @imanbtw revealed when the concert turned left, becoming a full on danger zone. 

“30-minutes before Travis Scott was set to perform there was a countdown put on the stage, counting down from 30 to zero,” TikTok user @imanbtw said. “At about one minute we started to become crushed, people started rushing towards the front and towards the barricade and we started having trouble breathing.” 

The intense compactness of the fans at the concert venue, combined with chaoticness of the concert itself has yielded a devastating ending that will forever be a stain on Scott’s legacy. On Friday night (November 5), Astroworld became a death trap, leaving eight people dead and many others injured. 

Authorities haven’t released an official cause of death for the Astroworld victims, however officials warn the public against believing rumored possible causes, according to NPR. Victims of Astroworld have been theorized to be subjects of needle-spiking, and as of Saturday that theory has been acknowledged as a possible cause by Houston Police Chief Troy Finner. 

“Finner confirmed that a security guard was possibly one such victim of the act and required medical attention after losing consciousness while helping to break up a fight,” according to Newsweek. 

As the situation tragically unfolds, it becomes more apparent that the fatalities might’ve been avoided had Travis Scott stopped his concert when concertgoers began screaming for help. There have been videos uploaded to social media, alongside tweets, that show the crowd pleading for the concert to be stopped after individuals began collapsing and struggling for breath in the audience.

According to NPR, “reports say [the] show went on for nearly 40 minutes while [the] emergency unfolded.” Despite many claims that Scott purposely refused to stop the show after being signaled by the crowd, Scott maintained that he didn’t realize the severity of the situation—hence why he didn’t stop the show. 

“My fans really mean the world to me and I always want to leave them with a positive experience,” said in an Instagram Live video.  “Anytime I can make out anything that’s going on, you know, I stop the show and you know, help them get the help they need. I could just never imagine the severity of the situation. To the ones that was lost last night, we’re working right now to ID the families so we can help assist them through this tough time. I’m honestly just devastated… I could never imagine anything like this just happening.”

Even after explaining how he assessed the concert situation at the time and offering resources to help the families of the victims, many were displeased with Scott’s initial reaction. Since the ordeal Travis Scott has faced much backlash from fans, many holding him accountable for the eight deaths and multiple hospitalizations of the concertgoers—some of whom were minors, according to NPR. 

According to CNN, “300 more were left injured” after the “crowd surge” that occurred during his Astroworld performance. Addressing the criticism and public outrage at the ineffective security strategies that led to Astroworld becoming Astrohell, Scott released a statement via twitter on Saturday (November 6).

“I am absolutely devastated by what took place last night,” Scott said in his statement. “My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival. Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life. I am committed to working with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need. Thank you to Houston PD, Fire Department and NRG Park for their immediate response and support.  Love you all.”

Following Scott’s public statement, Kylie Jenner —Scott’s baby mother—also released a statement sharing her condolences for the Astroworld victims in an Instagram story.

“Travis and I are broken and devastated,” Jenner wrote. “ My thoughts and prayers are with all who lost their lives, were injured or affected in any way by yesterday’s events. And also for Travis who I know cares deeply for his fans and the Houston community. 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. 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.”

Still under fire and amid investigation for his Astroworld concert, Scott—and Drake—are now facing lawsuits. Drake’s performance with Scott at this year’s Astroworld has now landed him in the hot seat, and on the end of a lawsuit.

Festivalgoer Kristian Paredes, 23, is suing Travis Scott, fellow rapper Drake, Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation for negligence, according to the Daily Mail. 

Paredes’ lawsuit claims that Drake is equally as liable as Scott—the Astroworld Festival organizer—because he continued to perform with Scott ‘as the crowd became out of control,’ according to Daily Mail. Because of that, Paredes claims he suffered bodily injuries, thus him seeking over $1 million in compensation to pay for medical expenses, according to the Daily Mail.

Additionally, another concertgoer by the name of Manuel Souza is suing Scott, Live Nation, concert promoter Scoremore, and others involved for over $1 million dollars in monetary relief. 

According to CNN, Souza, “suffered serious bodily injuries when the uncontrolled crowd at the concert knocked him to the ground and trampled him,” according to the lawsuit filed in Harris County, Texas. “Defendants failed to properly plan and conduct the concert in a safe manner. Instead, they consciously ignored the extreme risks of harm to concertgoers, and, in some cases actively encouraged and fomented dangerous behaviors. Their gross negligence caused Plaintiff serious injuries.”