Will Drake Be Charged/Sued For Travis Scott Astroworld Tragedy? – At the event, nine people died and hundreds were injured, prompting a storm of lawsuits. What Canadian rapper Drake may have known about the disaster unfolding at the Astroworld concert in Houston before he took the stage has made him a defendant in a number of lawsuits filed in the aftermath of the incident.
“The charge against Drake is that he should have known that people were being wounded and injured,” said Meredith Duncan, a law professor at the University of Houston Law Center Faculty.
“And he was going to contribute to that situation by taking the stage and performing.”
Following an apparent crowd surge at rapper Travis Scott’s Astroworld outdoor music festival, dozens of lawsuits have been filed and a criminal investigation has been launched. The gathering on Nov. 5 drew 50,000 participants, according to authorities.
Live Nation Entertainment Inc., a promoter, and Scott are among those accused in the complaints. Drake, who went on stage with Scott as a surprise guest artist, has been cited as a defendant in some of the subsequent court actions.
Live Nation Entertainment Inc., as well as Scott and Drake, are named in one of the cases filed by concertgoer Kristian Paredes, 23, of Texas. According to the lawsuit, the Toronto rapper, whose actual name is Aubrey Drake Graham, “helped agitate the crowd” and remained on stage with Scott “as the crowd went out of control” and “the crowd mayhem escalated.”
Concertgoers have recounted the suffocating crowd becoming perilous even before Scott took the stage, as well as watching people collapse while he played. Scott reportedly interrupted his set when it became evident that some needed medical help and encouraged the audience to make room for an ambulance that was snaking its way through the crowd, but he later resumed his play.
Authorities announced the performance was being shut down at 10:03 p.m. CT, but witnesses say Scott and Drake continued to perform.
Scott’s lawyers have stated that their client was unaware of the deaths and injuries until after the concert had ended. According to other news stories, Drake was reportedly oblivious of what had occurred. Drake stated his heart was “broken for the families and friends of those who lost their lives, and for anyone who is hurting” in an Instagram post.
Some lawsuits allege both carelessness and gross negligence, claiming that all defendants failed to take reasonable precautions to prevent physical injury and death. Gross negligence means that the defendants were aware of the risk but chose to ignore it.
