Judge Kristen Hawkins has declined to dismiss hundreds of lawsuits filed against rap star Travis Scott and his touring and production company, XX Global, over their role in the deadly 2021 Astroworld festival. The lawsuits allege that Scott was responsible for safety planning and watching for possible dangers at the concert, which resulted in the deaths of 10 people. Scott’s attorneys had argued that he was not responsible for these aspects of the festival, but the families of the victims claim that he had a “conscious disregard for safety.” The case is set to go to trial on May 6.
The lawsuits filed by the families of the 10 people who died, plus hundreds who were injured, allege that Scott and Live Nation, the festival’s promoter, along with dozens of other individuals and entities, were negligent in their planning and execution of the event. The lawsuits claim that Scott encouraged people who didn’t have tickets to break in and ignored orders from festival organizers to stop the concert when told to do so as people in the crowd were hurt or dying.
After an investigation by Houston police, no charges were filed against Scott, and a grand jury declined to indict him and five other people on any criminal counts related to the deadly concert. Those killed, who ranged in age from 9 to 27, died from compression asphyxia, which an expert likened to being crushed by a car. Some of the lawsuits filed by the families of the dead and the hundreds who were injured have been settled, including those filed by the families of four of the dead.
