Astrofest: Travis Scott’s Bloody Return

On Friday, November 5, 2021, Travis Scott returned to the public stage with Astrofest. Following the release of two major singles, everyone was incredibly excited for the third Astroworld festival, a two-day festival held in Houston, Texas. Prior to the festival, tickets went on sale and the 50,000 tickets sold out in minutes. Everything seemed ready – the stage was set, the setlist prepared, and all 50,000 people ready to have the night of their lives. But what was supposed to be the best night of their lives quickly turned into a bloody nightmare for these young victims. Ticket checkers were quickly overloaded and soon overrun, with thousands of fans pushing into the festival and no action taken against it. Over 50,000 fans pushed towards the main stage, packed like sardines as Scott encouraged the raging to continue and encouraged the violent, destructive behavior to persevere. Bodies soon fell to the ground, with thousands of festival goers being trampled over and passing out due to how tightly the crowd was packed. Video footage of medics can be seen trying to pass through the incredibly rambunctious crowd while the festival attendees attempt to push the cart over in an attempt to climb on it and party more on top of it. The “medics,” however, that Live Nation (the entertainment company handling the event) hired were also grossly undertrained and had very little experience with real medical issues such as CPR, how to check a pulse, or how to take care of other basic medical needs according to social media posts by the festival goers. Throughout the festival, multitudes of people were suffering tragic injuries, but Travis Scott saw apparently no issue with this, continuing the show as if he could not see the people dying. Video footage shows chants of crowd members screaming for help and to end the concert, saying they could not physically leave because of how packed they were, and Scott paying no attention to the pleas of those who had come out to support him. Videos can be seen of Scott telling the crowd to “rage harder” and “shake the ground” the ground that human bodies were laying on. Eight people are confirmed to have died that night. Eight innocent people who had come to just have a good time and enjoy themselves left the Earth, the youngest of which being 14 years old. 300 more major injuries were reported. This disgusting behavior on Scott’s part cannot go unexcused, and this is not a one-time occurrence. In 2015, during Lollapalooza Scott reportedly told his fans to rush the barricades, flip off security, and chant “we want rage.” These actions resulted in the injury of a 15-year-old girl, to which Scott later pleaded guilty to reckless conduct. In 2017, Scott was arrested again after a performance in Arkansas where he once again encouraged his fans to rush the stage and bypass security. He pleaded guilty in this instance to disorderly conduct and paid a $7465.31 dollar fine. Travis Scott has a disgusting history continually encouraging his fans to create dangerous situations for the people who simply come to have a good time. Concerts should be a fun, safe place where no one is afraid. Allowing Travis Scott to keep this platform that has already caused so many injuries would be a gross oversight on the part of the public.