The ramifications for Travis Scott following the Astroworld tragedy continue to pile on.
Originally, Travis Scott was booked to headline Coachella in 2020 prior to its cancellation due to the pandemic. Scott was to headline alongside Rage Against the Machine and Swedish House Mafia. However, Scott has now been completely removed from the running sheet from the rescheduled April festival.
The Astroworld tragedy, which resulted in ten people killed and hundreds injured, has seen Coachella drop the artist as he battles approximately 300 civil lawsuits and one class action suit totaling $750 million (US).
According to Variety, on hearing the news, Scott offered to perform at the festival for free in order to keep the top spot but was dropped regardless.
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Even as the consequences of the performance rise, Scott has seemed determined to keep the focus on overall concert safety rather than personal negligence to his audience.
In a recent interview Scott claimed he had little understanding of the horrific nature of the tragedy as it was unfolding. Scott said that he didn’t realise it was a “mass casualty event” and even went to a party following the show. Scott emphasised that if he had heard something like that was happening he would “want to stop the show”. He went on: “You want to make sure fans get the proper attention they need… I stopped it a couple times just to make sure everybody was okay.”
Scott deterred responsibility for the most part. He suggested that it’s the aim of the media to pin the tragedy on him but that instead the focus should be on how “to fix this overall for general concert safety.”
Though the festivals see it differently, Scott still seems determined to be on the stage. He stated that they need to fix these issues to avoid other artists experiencing a similar trauma and to
“make it better for people to have better live experiences”.
