Travis Scott's History Of Concert Mishap Lawsuits Explained
On November 5, 2021, tragedy struck at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas, when a massive crowd surge led to the deaths of eight people, including two teenagers aged 14 and 16, and left dozens of concertgoers injured. According to The New York Times, Houston police chief Troy Finner claims he visited Scott in his trailer before the show. He discussed certain concerns regarding the energy of the crowd of 50,000 people, including devoted fans who had paid steep concert ticket prices, sometimes traveled from far away to attend the concert, and were drawn to the show because of its atmosphere and the excitement of seeing live music again after a long pause due to the pandemic. Houston fire chief Samuel Peña noted that Scott and the other organizers could have stepped in and put a stop to the show when they realized that things were out of control. "If somebody would have said, 'Hey, shut this thing down and turn on the lights until this thing gets corrected' — and that coming from the person with the mic — I think could have been very helpful," Peña told the Times.
Music critic Joey Guerra who was covering the Astroworld show for the Houston Chronicle told the Washington Post that Scott is known for the "energy exchange" between performer and audience at his shows. "There's moshing, he encourages people — he calls his fans 'ragers' — that kind of aggressive, high-pitched energy is, I think, a signature of his show," Guerra said.
Travis Scott encourages his fans to 'rage'
Travis Scott is not alone in his ability to rile up a crowd of devoted fans, and isn't the first or last performer to encourage his audience to mosh and "rage." However, he does have a history of legal problems stemming from reportedly reckless behavior at his own shows. As reported by the HuffPost, Scott was arrested and charged in 2015 at a Lollapalooza show in Chicago, Illinois. He appeared on stage for just a few minutes, allegedly encouraging fans to rush the stage and yelling into a microphone, "Middle finger up to security right now!" Scott pled guilty to the charges and was on probation for one year.
In 2017, he was arrested once again and charged for inciting a riot at a show at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion, at which several concertgoers and a security guard were injured when Scott encouraged people to once again rush the stage and join him on it. Scott pled guilty to disorderly conduct once more, reportedly in order to avoid more serious charges. Just weeks later, 23-year-old Kyle Green was pushed from a third floor balcony at Terminal 5 in New York City and dragged onto the stage after Scott encouraged people to jump from the second floor balcony, proclaiming "Don't be scared, they're going to catch you." Green sustained injuries that left him partially paralyzed and in need of a wheelchair and sued Scott as well as his manager, a concert promoter, and the security company hired for the event for "recklessness" in a case that is still ongoing.