Is this the end of Travis Scott? Astroworld Incident Backlash
Written by Alisha Sondhi
It was a shock for people all over the world to hear about the unfortunate events that occurred at Astroworld. People lost their lives. And if anyone is worthy of being ‘cancelled’ today, it would be Travis Scott.
On 5th November 2021, 10 people were crushed to death and 25 were hospitalised during the Travis Scott performance at the Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas. 50,000 people were present. At around 9.11pm during the rapper’s set on stage, thousands of fans pushed themselves closer to the stage while crushing others at the front; the reason for this is still unknown. Sources from the event suggest that there was panic as fans tried to escape over security barriers, all while Scott continued his concert.
At approximately 9.30pm, medics in golf carts and ambulances attempted to make their way through the crowds. Fans helped to deliver CPR and urged staff to stop the performance. A video of a girl shouting to the camera operator to stop the concert went viral on TikTok, with crowds chanting to “stop the show.”
The Houston Chronicle Police reported that Scott stopped numerous times during the set and told security to help when he noticed fans in distress. Scott performed for 35 minutes, ignoring the chants to stop and the flashing lights of emergency crews which were clearly visible from the stage. Another video of Scott shows him watching an unresponsive fan being carried away.
Both Scott and girlfriend Kylie Jenner have issued apologies to their Instagram accounts; Scott posted a video and Jenner wrote a message from the pair. Scott and Jenner turned off and limited their social media comments, and denied that they were aware of the deaths during the concert. However, Jenner’s deleted Instagram story of the concert shows a clear view of an ambulance. This, and the video of Scott watching an unconscious fan, indicates that they must have seen the chaos that had occurred.
You may be thinking, “They apologised and done everything they could. People make mistakes. Let’s move on!”
Ten people were killed. The youngest victim was 9 years old. Is this a mistake people can move on from easily?
Let’s talk about other artists. How did they react to crises during their performances? Ariana Grande took accountability for an incident that she could not control. After the Manchester Arena bombings of May 2017, Grande paid for the funerals of the victims and met every hospitalised victim in person. She returned to Manchester two weeks later with other artists to hold the One Love Manchester charity concert and donated the £10 million raised to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund.
Adele stopped a show when a fan fainted. Lady Gaga stopped her performance when she noticed a bleeding fan. Harry Styles helped a fan who was having a panic attack. Lil Pump paused his show at Wireless when a person was having a seizure. Kurt Cobain called out a man for sexually assaulting a woman during a Nirvana concert.
Helping one person in a crowd of thousands was enough.
You may be wondering if Travis Scott still has fans after this tragedy. Unfortunately, he does. Celebrity privilege is a real thing. They could do the most dangerous thing in the world, and people would still support them. Chris Brown has abused women and Ellen DeGeneres mistreats her staff. Yet they both still have their careers.
Manslaughter is ‘the crime of killing a human being without the intention of killing’ which carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, or potentially life.
Do you think that celebrity privilege will keep Scott out of a sentence? I will let you decide.
Image: Kylie Jenner/Reality Blurb
Alisha Sondhi is a first year Law student. She enjoys art and movies. You can find her on Instagram.
University of Leicester's Student Magazine
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