The world was left shocked yesterday when the news broke that at least eight people were dead after a crowd surge that happened at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival.
Social media was inundated with posts questioning how such an event could happen, with many users wondering who to blame. Some posts questioned why the performance wasn’t stopped earlier. A single search on Twitter will generate hundreds of results asking that exact question.
“Why didn’t you fucking stop the concert u knew there was people dying… there was people fucking screamin,” reads one of the tweets.
“Oh please this isn’t the first time you encouraged fans to run on stage,” reads another.
Oh please this isn’t the first time you encouraged fans to run on stage. You played a part in those deaths last night. I have no sympathy for you. WHY DIDNT YOU STOP THE SHOW?
What happened last night was beyond disturbing. Your crowd wanted the show to STOP!
— Marie Watson (@MarieWatsen) November 7, 2021
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Though these sentiments are opinions of social media users, Scott has a history of reckless behaviour at concerts prior to this year’s Astroworld Festival.
In August 2015, Scott was charged with disorderly conduct after he encouraged fans to jump over security barriers while he was performing at Lollapalooza festival. He pled guilty to inciting a stampede that left a 15-year-old girl injured.
The situation is eerily similar to a Tweet Scott sent out before a performance in May of this year in which he encouraged fans to sneak in.
“NAW AND WE STILL SNEAKING THE WILD ONES IN. !!!!!” The tweet read. It was swiftly deleted straight after the deadly Astroworld event – and long before Scott made a statement on the mass casualty incident. Furthermore, a video was shared on social media hours before the incident, that showed fans breaking down barriers and running into the concert.
The rapper has a video on his Instagram page which shows a huge crowd breaking down a barrier and running into a concert. “DA YOUTH DEM CONTROL THE FREQUENCY. EVERYONE HAVE FUN. RAGERS SET TONE WHEN I COME OUT TONIGHT. BE SAFE RAGE HARD. AHHHHHHHHHHH,” he captioned the post.
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Scott was, again, charged with disorderly conduct in May 2017 when he encouraged fans to jump on stage during a concert at Fayetteville, Arkansas.
An additional incident allegedly occurred in 2017 that left a 23-year-old Scott fan with fractured vertebrae and left him partially paralyzed. The man, Kyle Green, reportedly says that he was pushed off an upper-level balcony by a surging crowd after Scott encouraged fans to jump from the venue’s balconies.
“They gonna catch you, don’t be scared! Fall!” The rapper allegedly said.
Immediately after the fall, Green was taken to the stage to be treated for injuries, and cell phone videos captured the rapper giving Green his ring and saying, “why the fuck did you do that? I love you, man.” Green has since filed a lawsuit against Scott for damages.
For more on this topic, follow the Hip Hop Observer.