Travis Scott Speaks Out for the First Time Since Astroworld Tragedy: ‘You Can Only Help What You Can See’
Travis Scott has finally broken his silence after the tragic death of 10 audience members at his Astroworld concert in November. The rapper shared the moment he knew people had died and how he plans to avoid repeating history at future shows.
10 people died at Travis Scott’s Astroworld concert in Houston, Texas
On Friday, Nov. 5, 10 people were killed and hundreds injured at Travis Scott’s Astroworld show in Houston, Texas. The audience members who died ranged in age from 9-27. The tragedy occurred when the crowd rushed the stage. Attendees were packed so tightly together that they couldn’t breathe, and many were trampled.
According to Vulture, 25 people were hospitalized, and eight were confirmed dead on the night of the show. Another victim died five days later, on Nov. 10, after previously being declared brain-dead. The final victim, a 9-year-old in a medically induced coma, died on Nov. 14.
There has been a lot of speculation whether the tragedy could have been prevented and if Travis Scott, LiveNation, the venue, and more should be held accountable.
Travis Scott said he didn’t know his audience members died until the day after his Astroworld show
Scott broke his silence about the tragedy in a Dec. 9 YouTube interview with Charlamagne Tha God. The rapper said he didn’t find out that fans had died until the day after his performance.
“Even after the show, you’re just kind of hearing things,” Scott explained (via XXL). “But I didn’t know the exact details until minutes before the press conference. And even at that moment, you’re kind of like, what? You just went through something.”
Travis Scott was likely referring to the press conference held the day after the Astroworld show by Fire Chief Samuel Peña, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, and Houston Police Chief Troy Finner.
The rapper went on to say that until the press conference, he’d had no idea of the severity of the situation. “The thing is, people pass out,” Scott said. “Things happen at concerts, but something like that …”
He said he couldn’t hear the crowd begging for him to stop the show, which was attended by his pregnant girlfriend Kylie Jenner and their 3-year-old daughter Stormi. “Anytime you can hear something like that, you wanna stop the show,” Scott said. “You wanna make sure the fans get the proper attention they need. And anytime I could see something like that, I did. I stopped a couple times just to make sure everybody was OK.”
Scott continued to explain, “You have a venue filled with 50,000 people. But it’s like a sea; you have lights, you have sound, you got pyros, you got your in-ears, you got sound, you got your mics, got the music, got bands. All types of stuff going on … you can only help what you can see and then whatever you’re told. Whenever somebody tells you to stop, you just stop.”
The rapper opened up about his responsivity to fans and future shows
Charlamagne Tha God asked Travis Scott how much responsibility he felt for the tragic deaths at Astroworld. “Fans come to the show and have a good experience. And I have a responsibility to figure out what happened here,” the rapper replied. “I have a responsibility to figure out a solution, and hopefully, this takes a first step into us as artists having that insight of what’s going on.
Scott continued, “And the professionals, to kind of surround and figure out more intel, whether it’s tech, whether it’s more of a response, whatever the problem is, to figure out that. [And] in the future, move forward in concert safety and make sure it never happens again.”
