Rapper Travis Scott is facing a lawsuit of over $1M for "inciting crowd" at the Astroworld Music Festival in Houston, Texas causing a stampede that killed 8 and injured hundreds. The crowd "began compressing towards the stage" during Scott's performance causing mayhem. The terrible tragedy unfolded shortly after Scott was joined by Drake on the stage. People were filmed begging the concert staff to stop the performance and help people escape the surge at one point.
According to DailyMail, a concertgoer has now filed a lawsuit against Travis Scott, Drake, Live Nation Entertainment Inc, and Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation for negligence during the show. The lawsuit claimed that rappers Travis Scott and Drake 'incited the crowd'. The complaint was filed on Sunday, November 7.
Who filed the lawsuit?
23-year-old Kristian Paredes from Austin, Texas filed the complaint accusing Drake of helping Scott 'incite the crowd'. The lawsuit further alleged that Drake continued to perform with Scott "as the crowd became out of control" and "mayhem continued." Paredes is seeking $1M as compensation for the bodily injuries he sustained during the stampede and to cover his medical expenses. He is seeking a trial by jury.
Paredes noted that he was at the front of the general admission section, and was separated from the VIP Section with a metal barrier. According to Paredes, he felt an "immediate push" as Travis Scott entered the stage at around 9 PM. "The crowd became chaotic and a stampede began leaving eight dead and dozens including Kristian Paredes severely injured," the lawsuit stated. "Many begged security guards hired by Live Nation Entertainment for help, but were ignored," it added.
'Organizers put profit over attendees'
According to the lawsuit the calamity was caused due to the "negligence, carelessness and recklessness" of the "defendants, their agents, servants and employees, in the ownership, management, maintenance, operation, supervision, and the control of the subject premises." "There is no excuse for the events that unfolded at NRG stadium on Friday night," Paredes' attorney, Thomas J Henry said. Henry noted that even though the "performers and organizers" were "aware of the hectic crowd, they decided to put profits over their attendees and allowed the deadly show to go on."
"I'm honestly just devastated... I could never imagine anything like this just happening," Travis Scott said addressing the fans for the first time since the tragedy on Saturday night. "We've been working closely with everyone to just try to get to the bottom of this. If you have any information please just contact the local authorities," he added.
