Travis Scott does NOT take responsibility for AstroWorld tragedy

‘I’m gonna fix this problem’: Travis Scott refuses to take responsibility for AstroWorld tragedy that killed 10 and blames his ‘in-ear’ person for not telling him crowd crush was becoming deadly

Travis Scott broke his silence in interview with podcaster Charlemagne Tha God published Thursday morningInsisted that he did not know about AstroWorld crowd-stampede tragedy as it unfolded leaving 10 dead Scott blamed his ‘in-ear’ person for not telling him to stop the show as the crowd screamed for helpScott said that he is ‘1000 percent’ certain he did everything he could have to prevent the tragedy ‘Did he have an ear piece in his eye?’ asks furious family of one man killed in the fatal stampede 

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Travis Scott has broken his silence following the fatal stampede at his AstroWorld concert last month, but is refusing to take responsibility as he faces a wave of lawsuits.

Speaking out about the November 5 tragedy that left 10 dead in Houston, Scott sat down with podcaster Charlemagne Tha God for an interview published on Thursday morning.

In the interview, Scott blamed his ‘in-ear’ person for not urging him to stop the show sooner, and claimed that he wasn’t aware of or responsible for the fatal stampede and crowd crush. 

Scott said that he is ‘1000 percent’ certain he did everything he could have to prevent the tragedy, and claims he didn’t hear the screams and cries for help as the crowd went out of control. 

‘Things happen, you know, and it’s just been such a time, and I’m just trying to just really figure things out,’ he said when asked why he was breaking his silence.

In a fiery statement to DailyMail.com, the family of one of the victims killed at AstroWorld responded to the interview saying: ‘Every time Travis Scott opens his mouth in an effort to avoid responsibility and accountability, he further exacerbates the pain of those that lost loved ones.’ 

‘Because he won’t voluntarily do so, we intend to force Travis Scott to accept responsibility for his conduct, in court, in front of a jury,’ added the statement from the family of 21-year-old Axel Acosta, who perished in the stampede.

Travis Scott has broken his silence following the fatal stampede at his AstroWorld concert last month, but is refusing to take responsibility for the disaster stampede that killed 10 as he performed

The rapper has been keeping a very low profile since the concert that claimed ten lives and left hundreds with injuries. On Wednesday he was spotted appearing somber as he rode in the passenger seat of his Range Rover with his security guard while heading to his office in these photos obtained by DailyMail.com

Attendees standing in close proximity during rap star Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival in Houston, Texas on November 5

Victim’s family slams Scott’s new interview 

In a statement to DailyMail.com, attorney Tony Buzbee spoke out on behalf of the family of Axel Acosta, one of 10 killed in the AstroWorld crowd stampede. 

‘I reviewed Travis Scott’s interview with great interest. Does he really want us to believe that he is a victim? Travis Scott is not a victim. Axel Acosta and the many others killed or injured are the victims,’ he said.

‘Travis Scott, his entourage, handlers, promoters, managers, hangers on and everyone else who enable him are the problem. Everything that Travis Scott has done or said since ten people died and hundreds of others were injured at his concert has been lawyer driven and calculated to shift blame from him to someone else,’ Buzbee added.

‘He now says he had an ear piece in, and was not told what was going on in the crowd. That raises the question: ‘Did he have an ear piece in his eye? Why did he purposely ignore the death and mayhem occurring literally feet from him?’ Every time Travis Scott opens his mouth in an effort to avoid responsibility and accountability, he further exacerbates the pain of those that lost loved ones. 

‘Axel Acosta’s family doesn’t want to hear Travis Scott’s excuses; excuses do not assuage their grief and pain. Because he won’t voluntarily do so, we intend to force Travis Scott to accept responsibility for his conduct, in court, in front of a jury,’ the statement said.

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Scott struggled to contain his emotion at times as he spoke about the families that lost loved ones in the crowd stampede.

‘They lost their loved ones, I just always wanna be there for them, I’m gonna fix this problem and make sure this doesn’t happen in the future and be the number one voice for this. We gotta figure it out,’ he said.

Scott said that he had been ‘in a room’ processing the tragedy, but Charlemagne pressed him on photos that emerged last month showing him carousing on a golf course with Michael Jordan and actor Mark Wahlberg. 

‘It was just Thanksgiving, you know, and they were there,’ the rapper explained. ‘That was more just like a personal time.’

Charlemagne also asked Scott whether his encouragement of ‘raging’ was to blame, referring to the concert culture similar to mosh pits.

‘Raging just the experience of having fun,’ Scott claimed, adding that raging was an inducement to ‘help others and love each other.’ 

‘What happened here isn’t off Travis Scott music,’ he said, adding that ‘music is healing’ and suggesting that the tragedy might inspire future lyrics.

Scott claimed that he was only told that the show was going to end after the guest, referring to Drake, came on stage.

He said he was never told why the show was ending or what was occurring in the crowd. ‘That’s what came through my ear,’ he said. 

Scott blamed the media for pinning responsibility for the tragedy on him. 

‘Yeah, you know, the media, they want to put it on me, but at the end of the day I don’t think it’s more so about that, it’s more so about stepping up to figure out what the problem is,’ he said. ‘Yeah, you know, I’m the face of the festival, I’m a artist, so yeah.’

Scott vowed that he was going to ‘fix this for the future people’ and ‘be the number one voice for this.’ 

The rapper dismissed online rumors that his music and the AstroWorld concert had ‘Satanic’ imagery or connections, insisting that he is a ‘man of God.’

‘Evil is not what we’re a part of. We’re not trying to be a part of that, we’re trying to be a part of joy,’ he said. 

Scott said that he is ‘1000 percent’ certain he did everything he could have to prevent the tragedy, and claims he didn’t hear the screams and cries for help as the crowd went out of control

Scott is seen far right at a table near a golf course last month. Mark Wahlberg is seen far left speaking with Corey Gamble, who is dating Kris Jenner, the mother of Scott’s girlfriend Kylie Jenner

Actor Said Taghmaoui is seen left with Travis Scott and right with Michael Jordan during a golf outing late last month

Scott, 30, sat down with podcaster Charlemagne Tha God for an interview published on Thursday morning

Asked what he would do differently in future performances, Scot said: ‘I’ll do the same thing I’ve been doing just double, you know, making sure everybody is on post, and you know double down and make sure that everyone is locked in.’ 

Throughout the interview, Scott returned to the theme of vowing to ensure that similar tragedies do not occur in the future.

‘I definitely wanna step in to figure out how can we fix this in the future. What can we do to change these things?’ he said. 

Asked who bears ultimate responsibility for the AstroWorld disaster, Scott replied: ‘It’s crazy ’cause something tragic happened here, and what I’ve just been trying to get to the bottom of is what happened here, how it happened here, and I think the families are owned that, I feel like you know the community is owed that.’

‘I feel like we’re owed that to know just, like, what happened. And, you know, I don’t wanna speak to soon, I just want to figure out, you know, what happened, you know.’

Scott’s Astroworld Festival turned fatal on November 5 during his set when the crowd of 50,000 people surged, resulting in a panic.

Ten people were killed, ages ranging from nine to 27, and hundreds were injured; 300 people were treated at the site and 13 were hospitalized in connection with the incident. 

Several lawsuits have been filed in the wake of Astroworld that name defendants as Scott, guest performer Drake, promoter Live Nation and individuals affiliated with Houston’s NRG Park and Scoremore Holdings. 

One lawsuit alone, which was filed in mid-November, seeks $2 billion on behalf of 282 victims.

Scott denied in Wednesday’s interview that the wave of lawsuits he is facing influenced his decision to speak publicly. 

‘It’s not about that,’ he said. ‘At the end of the day you’re a human being.’ 

‘Things happen, you know, and it’s just been such a time, and I’m just trying to just really figure things out,’ he said when asked why he was breaking his silence

Travis Scott performs at the Astroworld Music Festival in Houston on November 5, 2021. A surging crowd resulted in the death of ten people 

A makeshift memorial for the concertgoers who died in a stampede during a Travis Scott performance at the 2021 Astroworld Festival is seen in Houston

Travis Scott was seen for the first time after the Astroworld disaster in these photos obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com

Travis, real name Jacques Webster, was spotted on the phone, wrapped in a $1,600 Hermès blanket and pacing with his back turned to the cameras

On Monday, the Sicko Mode rapper filed legal documents requesting that a suit from festival attendee Jessie Garcia filed against him and several of his businesses be dismissed with prejudice. 

Scott issued a ‘general denial’ to all the allegations in Garcia’s suit, TMZ reported.

Sources close to the star say he is planning to issue a similar response to the dozens of cases, worth billions of dollars, that have been filed against him in wake of the tragedy. 

In an order issued on Tuesday, the Board of Judges of the Civil Trial Division of the Harris County District Courts in Houston granted a request by attorney Brent Coon to have all pretrial matters in the various lawsuits be handled by one judge. If any of the lawsuits go to trial, the case would return to its original court.

‘This consolidation will promote the expeditious and efficient administration of justice,’ the two-page order said.

All pretrial motions and issues in the lawsuits will be heard by state District Judge Kristen Hawkins.

Michael Lyons, an attorney for the family of 27-year-old Mirza ‘Danish’ Baig, said he viewed the offer to pay for funeral costs partly as a public relations ploy by Scott to ‘soften people up’ in the court of public opinion. The Baig family has also declined the rapper’s offer.

Families of several other victims have reacted similarly and refused Scott’s financial compensation. 

The rapper has expressed sadness over the tragedy and provided full refunds for all ticketholders (Pictured: Astroworld crowd listening to Scott perform)

Until Monday, it was unknown if Scott would take responsibility for the tragedy, but the motion for dismissal makes it apparent he is denying all liability. Scott and the event organizers are also the focus of a criminal investigation by Houston police

Meanwhile, Scott has reiterated that he was unaware of the chaos erupting in the the crowd that night and did not know that concertgoers were being seriously injured despite the fact that Houston Police Department declared a mass casualty situation at 9.40pm. Scott continued playing for another 40 minutes. 

Ed McPherson, another one of Scott’s lawyers, said just days after the concert his team didn’t get the message, and that cops at the event seemed unaware of it too.

‘This obviously was a systemic breakdown that we really need to get to the bottom of before he start pointing fingers at anyone,’ McPherson said last month. 

‘We’ve seen footage of police just walking about and not looking like it was a mass casualty event. Clearly, the important thing is that never got to Travis, never got to Travis’ crew. He is up there trying to perform. He does not have any ability to know what’s going on down below. Certainly on a mass level.

He continued: ‘Travis didn’t really understand the full effect of everything until the next morning. Truly, he did not know what was going on.

The day after the tragedy, Scott took to his own defense on his Instagram account (pictured)

‘He’s on a riser at one point, he sees one boy down and asks security to stop the show. You say an ambulance but it looked more like a golf cart with lights, he wasn’t sure what that was but he stopped the show for that.’

The day after the tragedy, Scott took to his own defense on his Instagram account. 

‘My fans really mean the world to me and I always want to leave them with a positive experience,’ he said Nov. 6, in a video posted to his stories.

‘Anytime I can make out anything that’s going on, ya 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.’

He continued: ‘I’m honestly just devastated… I could never imagine anything like this just happening.’

Scott and the event organizers are also the focus of a criminal investigation by Houston police.

Police have said they are reviewing surveillance video provided by concert promoter Live Nation, as well as dozens of clips of the show shared on social media. Investigators also planned to speak with Live Nation representatives, Scott and concertgoers. 

No timetable has been set for when the investigation will be completed.    

VICTIMS OF TRAVIS SCOTT’S ASTROWORLD FESTIVAL

Ten people died on Friday at Travis Scott’s music festival in Houston, Texas, with the victims ranging in age from 9 to 27.

John Hilgert, 14 

John Hilgert, 14 

John Hilgert, of Hunters Creek Village, was identified as one of the concert fatalities on Saturday by officials at Memorial High School, where he was a freshman student.

Hilgert attended Friday’s concert with his long-time friend Robby Hendrix, 15.

Henrdix’s mother, Tracy Faulkner, bought her son’s ticket for his birthday and ‘ultimately regrets the decision’.

‘Everything about that night was a tragedy,’ Faulkner told the Houston Chronicle. ‘They were both in the same place at the same time and one came home and one we will never see.’

She said Hilgret and Hendrix had known each other for years and played football together.

‘John was a good student and athlete and so polite. He was the sweetest and smartest young man,’ she shared.

Brianna Rodriguez, 16 

Brianna Rodriguez, 16

Brianna Rodriguez was a dancer and junior in high school. On Saturday her family confirmed that she was one of the eight victims who died.

A GoFundMe account set up by her family described her as a ‘beautiful vibrant 16-year-old’.

‘Dancing was her passion and now she’s dancing her way to heaven’s pearly gates.’ 

Jacob Jurinek, 20

Jacob Jurinek attended the concert with his best friend Franco Patino when both were trampled to death. The pair grew up in the same Illinois town of Naperville.  

A friend, going by the name Ana Lissa Marie, was distraught at the death of Jurinek, who was studying art and media at Southern Illinois University, and had traveled to Houston with Patino to celebrate Jurinek’s birthday.

‘I lost all my respect for Travis Scott,’ she tweeted.

‘What happened was absolutely disgusting. RIP to all the ones that lost their lives. To Jacob Jurinek, you will be missed kid. thank you for all the laughs.

‘My condolences go to all the families that lost lives.’

Other victims included University of Dayton student Franco Patino (right), 21, who was attending the event with his best friend, 20-year-old Jacob Jurinek, when both were trampled to death 

Franco Patino, 21    

The University of Dayton confirmed to DailyMail.com that student Franco Patino of Naperville, Illinois, attended the concert in Houston on Friday.

The mechanical engineering technology major was involved in several campus extracurriculars and had most recently been working in a co-op program in Mason, Ohio.

University president Eric F Spina extended his sympathy and prayers to Patino’s loved ones and the campus community.

Patino’s fraternity, Alpha Psi Lambda, also issued condolences to his friends and family.

‘It is with a very heavy heart, Alpha Psi Lambda National, Inc shares that our brother, Franco ‘Cuauhocelotl’ Patino, has passed on to Omega Chapter,’ the organization wrote on Facebook.

‘We extend our condolences to his family, friends, Alpha Nu Chapter and all that share in this loss. May his memory be eternal.’

The college senior joined the fraternity’s University of Dayton chapter last year. 

Patino (left) and Jurinek grew up in the same Illinois town and were best friends

Axel Acosta, 21  

Edgar Acosta on Monday held a press conference with Texas attorney Tony Buzbee to announce he was suing over the death of his son Axel Acosta, who had traveled from Washington to attend the festival – his first concert.

Axel Acosta, 21

‘They need to make things change in these type of events,’ he said.

‘Today it was me. I lost my son. It could’ve been you,’ Acosta said.

‘When you send your kid to have some fun, because somebody else is not providing the right… I don’t know I can explain. The right security.

‘Because it is not the first time that he has been in big events, right?

‘You can go to Disneyland and have fun. You can go to a baseball game and have fun. Because they have the right security, the right people, some people assisting those injured.

‘It’s hard to explain.’

Rodolfo ‘Rudy’ Peña, 23 

Peña, from Laredo, Texas, died of cardiac arrest after being injured at the show.

He was a medical assistant and criminal justice major with aspirations to become a model and dreamed of one day being a US Border Patrol agent.  

‘What happened this past weekend is a direct result of what happens when the pursuit of financial gain and fame take precedence over protecting the lives of the innocent,’ said Almaraz Law Firm, representing the Peñas, in a statement.

‘It is a testament to the current state of live events and the greed that runs rampant in this industry.

‘Nobody should feel unsafe enjoying something they love, and unfortunately this is exactly what has transpired.

‘We vow to work diligently and responsibly to bring justice to the Peña family and to all afflicted, and we will not rest until these voices have been heard loud and clear.

‘We will hold responsible parties accountable and fight to ensure that something positive comes of this unmitigated disaster. Something must change. Something will change.’ 

Rodolfo ‘Rudy’ Peña, 23

Madison Dubiski, 23

Madison Dubiski of Cypress, Texas, was the eighth and final victim to be identified on Monday.

The former Ole Miss student was yanked from her brother Ty, who tried to pull her to safety, in the surge and disappeared in the crowd.

Dubiski studied at the University of Mississippi between 2016 and 2017 and worked in advertising and marketing. She went to Cy-Fair High School, where she was a Varsity cheerleader and member of National Charity League, a community service organization for mothers and their daughters in middle and high school.

Friends said that her mother Michelle was her best friend and that she was very close with Ty, who graduated from Cy-Fair in 2019.

Madison Dubiski, 23

Danish Baig, 27  

Basil Mirza Baig took to Facebook Saturday announcing that his brother, Danish Baig also died at Astroworld.

‘My brother was killed in this horrendous event that was managed poorly and supervised by such horrible people,’ Baig wrote.

‘People were trampled, walked and stomped on. My brother tried to save my sister-in-law from these horrendous acts that were being done to her in the process he lost his life.’

Baig described Danish as a beautiful soul who put everyone before himself.

‘Last night he showed his courageous act to save my sister-in-law from those horrendous things that were being done. I am lost of words and in true trauma from this event,’ he added.

‘I was there and I wasn’t able to save my brother. People were hitting pushing and shoving and did not care for anyone’s life.’

Baig also accused the rapper of provoking the chaos by ‘calling people to the stage to jump into the crowd’ and for ‘not stopping the show’.

‘This is not the end,’ Baig warned. ‘My family and I will go to the full extent to make sure he is brought to justice.’

Danish Baig, 27

Bharti Shahani, 22

Bharti Shahani, a senior at Texas A&M, died from injuries sustained at Astroworld

Shahani, a Texas A&M senior, was critically injured at Astroworld and was on a ventilator at Houston Methodist Hospital, where she was taken after the concert.

She was declared brain dead and was taken off the ventilator shortly thereafter. She was the ninth person to die from the crowd surge. 

It was the first festival Shahani had ever attended, her family said.  

Her family’s attorney, James Lassitier, said: ‘Bharti was a shining star in the community.’

‘She was a sister, a daughter, a high-achieving college student about to graduate from Texas A&M University with high, high grades.’ 

Ezra Blount, 9

Blount was the tenth – and youngest – person to die from injuries sustained at Astroworld Festival.

He had been trampled at the concert, placed in a medically induced coma and was on life support for a week before he succumbed to his injuries.

The young boy had spent the concert seated on the shoulders of his father, Treston Blount.

Treston passed out from lack of oxygen and, once we regained consciousness, was unable to locate his son.

By the time the father-son pair were reuntied, Blount had suffered  swelling in his brain as well as ‘trauma in nearly all organs.’ 

Ezra Blount (right) and his father, Treston Blount (left), are pictured at Astroworld

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