Travis Scott seeks removal from Astroworld deaths lawsuit amid safety plan dispute
HOUSTON - Travis Scott is asking to be removed from the Astroworld deaths lawsuit. Just last week, the rapper, Drake, was dismissed from the suit.
A judge is hearing arguments to decide if Scott remains as a defendant in the lawsuit.
COMPLETE COVERAGE: The Astroworld Tragedy
In Monday's civil hearing, which started in the late afternoon, attorneys for Travis Scott were telling the judge Scott didn't have anything to do with coming up with or carrying out safety plans. They say his responsibilities for the 2021 Astroworld Music Festival were limited to things such as performing, creative direction, promoting and selecting talent.
As next month's civil court trial date inches closer, this hearing is to decide if the case will move forward with Scott and others who are named as being potentially at fault for the tragic deaths at the fatal Astroworld Music Festival.
Scott's lawyer started the day telling Harris County Civil Court Judge Kristen Hawkins, "just how devastated Mr. Scott was and is. We are heartbroken for the families of those who lost their lives."
The judge later asked what did Travis Scott see that caused him to temporarily stop his performance that tragic night. The rapper's attorney says Scott observed four different things, including at one point a person in a tree, a friend in front of the stage, a golf cart with lights going through the crowd, and he saw someone in the crowd that looked to be in need of assistance. However, Scott's attorney says the performer had authority to pause, but not stop the show, and says Scott ended the festival after Drake's performance, with one final song, as he was instructed.
The attorney says the way the show would end had to be done carefully to avoid a riot, stampede, or making the situation worse.
Those who represent the families of the ten people who died at the Astroworld Music Festival say the event was "massively oversold."
They say there were safety concerns about crowd control while concertgoers transitioned between the two stages, but the plaintiff's attorneys say Travis Scott insisted on having his own stage and not allowing anyone else to perform on stage two while he was on.
There are also lots of disputes about when the show should have been stopped and when organizers knew people were being crushed and dying.
Apple, who was live streaming the event, is also named in the lawsuit, but is seeking to be dismissed as well.
Live Nation, festival directors, several companies and people connected to the venue, NRG Park, are also being sued.
According to victims' attorneys, the chaos and safety concerns began that day with fans without tickets breaking down barricades to get in, and those attorneys say Scott "started instigating" his fans to overload an already oversold festival. They say Scott sent out a now deleted tweet saying, 'we're sneaking the wild ones in.'
Those attorneys call the 2021 Astroworld Music Festival a "densely and dangerous site layout."
Another attorney pointed out to the judge saying the plan was approved by the Fire Marshal to have 50,000 people. In fact, he says, fire code would have allowed 200,000 people based on the 1.2 million square feet of property. The same attorney in his argument before the judge asked how much responsibility should be placed on the Houston police and fire departments.
Lawyers representing the victims are asking why were so many safety concerns raised, but no one did anything to stop the festival from happening and the show was allowed to go on?
The judge heard attorney arguments for hours.
The trial is set to start May 6.
The judge is also addressing plaintiffs' attorneys who have been asking for Scott's cell phone records since October 2023, but Scott says he lost his phone while jet skiing in the ocean on vacation. Scott's attorneys say they have been working on gathering the data.
Judge Hawkins responded, "we'll likely explore this matter more next week, and if we need to hear from a certain person, we'll do that."