Judge Declines To Drop Travis Scott From Lawsuits

(USNewsBreak.com) – Rapper Travis Scott founded the Astroworld Music Festival in 2018. It has gone on to become an annual event. On November 5, 2021, the festival, hosted by Live Nation and its affiliates, was underway when tragedy struck. Just minutes after Scott took the stage at 9 p.m., calls poured into 911 about distress in the crowd. By 9:30, multiple people had passed out in front of the stage. By the end, 10 people had died from compression asphyxia, and scores of others suffered injuries. Hundreds filed lawsuits against the rapper, his company, and the host, which he recently tried to have thrown out. A judge recently denied that motion.

On April 15, Scott’s attorneys attended a hearing and argued that the artist wasn’t responsible for the event’s logistics, including possible dangers and safety planning that went into the 2021 concert. Instead, his legal team said the entertainer’s responsibilities centered on marketing and performing. They filed a motion asking the judge to drop Scott’s name and that of his production and touring company, XX Global, from the lawsuits.

Judge declines to dismiss lawsuits against Travis Scott over Astroworld festival tragedy https://t.co/0Jn4CBwwlA pic.twitter.com/8kKYA2uS3s

— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) April 25, 2024

An attorney for the family of one of the victims refuted those claims. The plaintiffs’ lawyer argued that Scott showed blatant disregard for the well-being of concert-goers during and after his performance. State District Judge Kristen Hawkins agreed, and on Tuesday, April 23, she denied the defense’s request in a one-page written order with no explanation.

Now, Scott will soon face the first of several lawsuits, scheduled to begin on May 6. The class-action lawsuit follows a two-year discovery process during which both sides shared information and took depositions. Scott himself voluntarily sat for eight hours of questioning last October.

Plaintiffs and their attorneys removed other artists and companies, such as Drake, who they initially named in the lawsuit. Yet, Scott’s prominent role as the event founder has left him potentially facing civil consequences.