Rapper Travis Scott has been facing questions in connection with the Astroworld Festival tragedy, which left ten people dead and thousands of others injured. The festival, held in November 2021, was headlined by Scott and was organized by him and Live Nation.
The victims of this tragedy ranged in age from nine to 27 and were killed due to compressive asphyxiation. Following the incident, thousands of plaintiffs sought damages from Scott and Live Nation, who have denied responsibility for the incident.
In June, a grand jury in Texas decided that Scott would not face criminal charges for the incident, but civil lawsuits filed by multiple victims still remain active in the state. Scott’s lawyer Kent Schaffer said that his client was “devastated” by the tragedy and was unaware of the severity of the events until after he had left the stage.
This week, Scott was once again questioned over the festival, which was deemed as “typical legal procedure”. In response, his lawyer said that Scott’s phone had fallen off a boat while he was on vacation in Mexico and could not be retrieved.
However, plaintiffs’ lawyers have filed emergency motions to obtain electronic records from Scott and his employees via Global Inc and Cactus Jack, claiming that they had failed to provide the necessary documents. The lawyers have also accused Scott and his team of refusing to provide information from their phones, citing confidentiality concerns.
In response, Steve Brody, Scott’s attorney, said that the rapper had not backed up his phone due to “significant hacking concerns”. During a recent hearing, Judge Kristen Hawkins questioned this decision, saying: “There does not seem to have been any action, from what I am hearing right now, taken on the part of Mr Scott’s legal team to either, A, secure and download anything from his phone immediately following an event in which 10 people died, or, B, trying to recover text messages from alternate sources when Mr Scott would have the ability to go and get that information, possibly from the carrier, or from other sources.”
Recently, Scott teamed up with Drake to perform their latest collaboration ‘Meltdown’ live for the first time ever in Vancouver. The performance was part of Scott’s ‘It’s All A Blur’ tour, which was meant to feature 21 Savage, although he was unable to perform due to ongoing immigration issues.
It remains to be seen what the outcome of this tragic event will be for Travis Scott and the other parties involved.
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