Travis Scott breaks silence on Astroworld festival tragedy after 10 people died

16 November 2023 , 14:37

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Rapper Travis Scott haunted by the loss of lives at his Astroworld festival in 2021 (Image: Getty Images)

Travis Scott is still “overly devastated” as he breaks his silence on the tragic deaths that occurred at his Astroworld Festival in 2021. Ten people died and hundreds more were injured during a crowd surge at the concert in Houston, Texas.

In his first interview two years after the fateful incident, the rapper, 32, said he remains haunted by the loss of lives. “I always think about it. Those fans were like my family. You know, I love my fans to the utmost,” he told GQ magazine. “It has its moments where it gets rough and… yeah. You just feel for those people. And their families.”

Scott, who shares children Storm and Aire with his ex, Kylie Jenner, added that one of the tracks on his album Utopia, released in the summer, references the tragedy. The song My Eyes includes the lyric: I replay them nights, and right by my side, all I see is a sea of people that ride wit’ me/If they just knew what Scotty would do to jump off the stage and save him a child . “The song is emotional… and that verse means a lot to me,” he explained, noting that he wants people “to know I have pain, too, I have concerns, things that I think about, and the things I see on a day-to-day basis, I think about them.”

Travis Scott remains haunted by the loss of lives at his concert in Houston, Texas in 2021 (AFP via Getty Images)

Panic erupted at the gig on 5 November, 2021, when the over-capacity crowd – at least 50,000 reportedly attended – rushed towards the front of the stage during Scott’s headline performance, where Drake was brought out as a surprise guest. Ten people, ranging in age from nine to 27, were killed by compressive asphyxiation, while many others were hurt.

Scott and Drake were criticised for continuing to perform – although the former said he was not aware of the severity of the crush until after he left the stage. In June this year, a grand jury in Texas declined to indict Scott and five other people on any criminal charges related to the concert. “In this instance, the grand jury of the 228th District Court of Harris County found that no crime did occur, that no single individual was criminally responsible,” District Attorney Kim Ogg stated.

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Scott’s spokesperson Ted Anastasiou told CNN: “While waiting patiently for the District Attorney’s decision to not file charges, Travis Scott has been inaccurately and wrongly singled out, despite stopping the show three separate times and being unaware of the events as they were unfolding. Now that this chapter is closed, we hope for the government efforts to focus on what is most important – stopping future heartbreaking tragedies like Astroworld from ever occurring again.”

Thomas Stichbury