Life or Death Struggle at Astroworld Festival
Astroworld concert in Houston, Texas leads to the death of at least nine people.
November 17, 2021
On November 5, 2021, the Astroworld Festival led by artist Travis Scott was held in Houston, Texas. The festival was originally scheduled to go from November 5-6, but the second day was canceled after, on the first day, the crowd surged towards the stage, causing overcrowding, injuries, and even death.
The outdoor festival, whose tickets have been sold out since May, had over 50,000 people in attendance. According to some concert attendees, about 30 minutes before the concert, the crowd began to compress towards the stage. While this was happening, people were being pushed around and to the ground. People began to fall unconscious, which created panic within the crowd.
After the November 5th concert in Houston, 23 people were taken to the hospital and over 300 people were treated on the spot. Out of the 23, 11 people were taken in for cardiac arrest. At least nine people are confirmed dead, including 14-year-old John Hilgert.
Fans were screaming at Scott and his crew to stop the show, but their pleas were unsuccessful. Scott continued his concert while people in the crowd were dying. Videos show that while emergency services were performing CPR about 20 feet away from the stage where Scott was performing, he continued to sing and later claimed that he couldn’t see what was going on in the crowd.
After the incident, Scott posted an apology on his social media, including Twitter, stating, “I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at the Astroworld Festival.”
People responded to this apology with videos and screenshots which support the idea that Scott knew what was going on, but he chose to ignore it. Some people even included videos of other concerts where the performer would yell at the crowd to help the people around them before they would continue the concert.
Scott is facing a $750 million lawsuit from 125 victims of the Astroworld Festival, and this number may continue to grow. It’s safe to say the release of Scott’s upcoming album Utopia will be delayed.