“When the show ended I was making my way to the exit. I saw a man on a medical golf course getting CPR as they were shouting to get him to an ambulance. Yes, every concert i’ve been to such as Lil Yachty and Dababy, people pass out all the time due to the packed crowds. I found out that many people died the next morning when I found out the second day for the concert was cancelled. I was heartbroken and in disbelief.” 

This is a quote from an anonymous source, a person who created a Travis Scott concert page on Instagram. The page has a bunch of Travis Scott concerts posted, including the Astroworld tragedy.

The person even went further discussing why they wanted to be anonymous and discussing the event in greater detail.

When asked if they wanted their name in the story: “I’d Rather be anonymous, their too much hate for even attending the show right now. Its crazy. I’ve been getting comments that it is my fault that I didn’t stop. I don’t know what people expect me to do. People also said  I should get sued. It’s crazy, man.”

The anonymous source also shared a video of him being a part of the crowd in the concert, which can be viewed here. 

But before more is discussed about the anonymous source, what exactly happened with this concert?

On Friday, Nov. 5, the Astroworld music festival began as a two-day event. What was supposed to be a day full of joy and vibes became a day that many want to forget. At least ten people died in the crowd and hundreds more were injured. About 50,000 people were present when the injuries occurred. It is considered one of the deadliest crowd control disasters at a concert in the United States. 

Now, to go back and give a perspective on what it was like during the concert, the anonymous source has shared their experience. In the video, they stated, “I was in the front on the left side of the stage, I was close.” They also stated, “I really did not know that anyone was dying or getting trampled. I was even by the section where they were chanting, ” Stop the show, and I didn’t know why. I thought maybe someone passed out because that happened at almost every concert i’ve been to.”

You can tell from the video that the place was packed; the pictures show how tightly everyone was grouped. It seemed as if people had no space to move around during the concert. 

Travis Scott, however, has been receiving backlash ever since this tragedy took place. People on social media clowned his apology video, which can be viewed here.

It is insane how an apology video can turn into a meme. But by looking at the original video of course it would.

It just seemed as if the video was not genuine enough. This gave the wrong impression to people that he did not care. Even Drake, who Travis introduced during the concert, was being blamed for not stopping the show. But what a lot of people don’t understand is that Travis did try to stop the show to check on people. The person who went to the concert gives a detailed account of what Travis did during the concert.

“I don’t think he knew how bad it actually was. He stopped the show a few times to ask if everyone was okay. He stopped once for someone to get the medics. I feel like if he knew people were in danger, he would have stopped so they could get help. I don’t think Travis or Drake are to blame because they are just the performers. The police and event organizers and staff should have stopped the show. There are videos of the police taking videos of Drake and Travis.” 

While that may put Travis in a better position, it’s not as good as it seems, however. The person who went to the concert has also stated, “I have read many stories that suggest there weren’t many trained medics. Many people in the crowd were helping the medics perform CPR. Live Nation is the company that ran the festival; they had 10 OSHA violations from 2016 to 2019.”

Right here shows a photo of the Ambulance cutting through the Astroworld crowd trying to help save those who were injured or worse.

This also does not help that police audio recordings reveal officers called for Travis Scott to stop the Astroworld set, but he kept on performing for another forty minutes. Also, a security guard during the event said he was hired through text. When he showed up no one asked for Identification, phone number, or even qualifications but still handed him a security vest. He states in a video that he was not prepared for what happens next. You can check the video out here.

This poses a question: why would Travis and his team work with said company if they had a history of violations during concerts. Also, when the source said that they went to other concerts and that people pass out at these other concerts too, why were Travis and Live Nation not as prepared to help people in the crowd? This is one of the biggest names in the music industry, so of course a bunch of people were coming. The crowd was set to be huge. It also does not help that it was reported that the Astroworld festival, cops were oblivious to dead bodies within the crowd. 

At the same time, who can blame them? It’s also a very huge crowd and while Live Nation may seem sketchy, Travis understood something was wrong and tried to fix the issue. 

No matter the side, however, the fans suffered the most, especially the people who passed away during the event. More people were set to come and talk about their experience besides the anonymous source, however, these people are grieving. People have stated that they are even seeking therapy after this event. An anonymous source has stated that they went to the concert and even knew someone that has passed away. 

The people deserve to mourn the loss and even if they did not lose something, hundreds were still injured. Again, what was supposed to be a joyful occasion became an event that we won’t forget for quite some time. 

So now, a couple of months later, the tragedy and the controversy have not gone away. Travis is now facing over $2 billion in damages from the Astroworld festival. When you go to Travis Scott’s Instagram page and social media in general, many fans take to the comments to express the frustrations they had with how Travis handled the event. Some even say that they will no longer support what he does and will stop streaming his music. As fans and the general public protested, more news came out with Travis, stating how, after the event, he was seen at an after-party with Drake in Dave and Busters. 

At the end of the day, there are two sides to the story. People have the right to think about whether it was his fault. Again, he tried to help those in need and even used the money earned from the concert to support the families of those who lost their lives during it. The apology video and being silent however is hard to debate with. Also, the security guard being hired for the event, who was not given an interview, but just hired on the spot, seemed off. Travis and Live Nation especially could have handled the situation better, yes, but for the most part Travis has tried to do right by his fans. 

The aftermath of the Astroworld concert was just as devastating as what went on during the
actual concert itself. Travis Scott’s fans have been very loyal to him over the past years with his
concerts being sold out every show. Fans are enraged after hearing the apology that Travis
Scott gave during a video he posted to the media. The apology felt so insincere that fans were
saying how he was only apologizing because he knew what he was in for. He knew that he was
in a lot of trouble so he made that video just to have fans feel bad for him. This is what Scott
had to say in his apology video. “ I just want to send out prayers to the ones that were lost last
night.” This video was released on Nov. 7, the day after the tragic incident happened.
“We are actually working to identify the families so we can help assist them during this tough
time. My fans really mean the world to me and I really want to leave them with a positive
experience every time.”

That statement has not aged well after ten lives were lost that day
during the Astroworld event. “Anytime I can make out anything that is going on, I would stop the
show and let them get the help they need.” This doesn’t line up with what was actually going on
at the show. Scott watched dead fans being carried up to the front of the crowd as he hummed
an eerie melody as his eyes following the bodies being rushed. “We’ve been working closely with
everyone to get to the bottom of this. The city of Houston, the HPD, the fire department, and
anyone who can help us figure this out. So if you have any information, please just contact your
local authorities. Everyone just continue to keep your prayers.”

Travis Scott wrapped up what
seems to be an insincere apology video by saying “I could never imagine anything like this
happening. I’m going to continue to keep you guys updated and just keep you guys informed of
what’s going on. I love you all.” During this whole apology video, Scott can be seen rubbing his
eyes and sniffling as he is speaking. The problem is there are no tears coming out of his eyes.
He closes his eyes throughout the video and takes long pauses in between each sentence to
make his apology seem sincere but his fans are not buying it. “That’s not an apology, that’s
someone who is worried about his career.” One person said. “He doesn’t look concerned at all.
He was literally aware of people dying in his concert, he only seemed to care about his career
and wealth.” Another person said. People could see right through Scott’s apology video and it is
evident with those statements from people.

Drake, who was also in attendance at the Astroworld festival, was a performer as well. He
along with Scott were seen at an after-party having the time of their life as fans were freshly
mourning the loss of their loved ones. One may ask “How could the both of them have it in them
to party during a time like this?” Especially right after the festival had just ended. This sparks up
a lot of rumors about the actual event itself. Scott along with Drake were hit with almost 300
lawsuits against them. One of the lawsuits is seeking more than 750 million dollars which was
on behalf of 125 victims, which includes Axel Acostaa, a 21-year-old fan who lost his life that night.

Travis Scott was interviewed a little over a month after the tragedy occurred by Charlemagne Tha God, a radio show host of The Breakfast Club on Power 105.1. Scott during the interview was asked how he felt about the aftermath of everything which is intriguing since Scott has been hiding for so long. Scott responded by saying “I’ve just been in a room with a lot of thoughts. I’ve been doing this for such a long time and nothing like this ever happened so it’s like your just figuring out at the end of the day these fans are your family so it’s like you just lost something. You do these shows so the fans can have the best experience so it’s just hard to wrap your head around everything.

I have to be a voice for these people and figure out the bottom solution of what’s going on.” Travis was seen playing golf with Mark Wahlburg and Michael Jordan during Thanksgiving and was questioned about it. “That was more of a personal time for me; it’s good to have people around,” Charlemagne asked Scott if he had heard the fans screaming to stop the show because people were passing out and dying, and he said he didn’t hear any of that. He said “Anytime you hear something like that you want to stop the show and get the fans the attention they need. And anytime I could see anything like that I did stop the show. I stopped the show a couple of times to make sure everyone was ok. And I really just go off the fan’s energy and I just didn’t hear that.” Scott was asked what it is really like to perform on stage, since none of us really know what it’s like but him, especially in front of 50,000 people. “You have lights, sound, pyro, the music, the band, the crowd, everything just sounds the same. When you’re so into the show that’s really all you’re focused on. And anytime you can feel anything close to you, you try and get to that.”

This is a very controversial statement because numerous videos clearly show that Scott ignored fans who were close by, yelling at him to stop the show, and that bodies were carried throughout the crowd. As the interview went on, Charlamagne asked Scott, “If the families of the victims never forgive you, would you even be able to forgive yourself, and could you live with that? Scott took a long pause. A pause that silenced the whole room. He responded by saying this, “It’s tough, it’s really tough, because I want them to know my intentions weren’t to harm their family at all, it was for them to come and have a good experience, and I’ve always felt like I had a connection with my fans through the music. I would love for them to truly know where I’m coming from and that it wasn’t just a show, it was for them to have a very good time and it didn’t end that way. I feel like everyone is pointing their finger at me because it was my festival and you know, I am who I am and people have been trying to take my whole career and try and do that to me. I feel like I’ve shown through actions that that’s not my character. I feel like with the understanding people who know that I wasn’t there trying to be the villain. I was trying to be a hometown hero.”

As the interview was wrapping up, Charlamagne stated, “The day before Astroworld, there was footage of you discussing the importance of giving back to your community and what that means to you. Do you feel like people have forgotten your heart in all of this and what Astroworld was truly about?” Scott responded by saying “You know there are people grieving right now and I just want to continue to stay on the stepping blocks and continue to build the charity and the community work I have been doing for Houston. I was doing that work before not to have people come pat me on the back but to simply just make a change.” The final question of this interview, Scott was asked: “Will he ever recover from this emotionally?” “My family has always told me to keep my faith in God and I’ve always told myself that things will get hard and sometimes things will feel amazing. I think how you respond to things and how you channel your emotions is what’s important.” The final question that Charlamagne asked was “Who does Travis Scott think should be held responsible for this tragedy?” Scott took a deep breath, and said “Something tragic happened here and what I’ve been trying to get to the bottom of is what happened here and how it happened. I think the families are owed that along with the community. “ I don’t want to speak too soon; I just want to know exactly what happened.” Scott’s final words were, “Keep praying for the fans, the families who lost, keep reaching out for healing, and for people to continue to be there for each other.” Love is everything and with that we can try and cure everything and take steps forward. Just to continue to let people grieve and check in with one another. That’s one of the most important things right now as we figure out what’s going on.”

Since the concert, Travis Scott has not made a return to social media and has been ghost since the festival. Scott has been removed from major events, including Coachella 2022, a popular festival where fans flock to see their favorite performers. An online petition went along with the removal of Scott with the signatures of over 60,000 people. “With the recent tragedy and unnecessary death at Travis Scott’s Astroworld concert, due to Scott’s own gross negligence and sheer lack of compassion for human life, we ask AEG, Paul Tollet, and Goldenvoice to remove him as performer at all of their festivals,” the petition wrote. Scott has also been removed from the popular game Fortnite, where he appeared as a playable character along with his music. This was a big blow for Scott since he was a fan favorite selected in this game. Will Scott ever be able to make a comeback from a tragedy such as the one that took place on Nov. 5? Some have hope for Scott and some want nothing to do with him ever again. Is Scott as sincere as he claims to be in his interview?

All we can say for sure is that the people who lost their lives and the people who have been injured mentally and physically from this event suffered the most. As Travis’s newest project, “Utopia,” comes around, many wonder what the reception will be moving forward with the rapper? Only time will tell.