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Not sorry: Travis Scott denies responsibility for Astroworld tragedy

WION Web Team
New DelhiUpdated: Dec 09, 2021, 02:03 PM IST
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Families of victims have vehemently criticised Travis Scott's filings (of not being responsible for the Astroworld tragic deaths), labelling them as "shameful". 

A lot has happened since that fateful day of November 5 when a sudden surge in crowd at the Astroworld Music Festival claimed at least 10 lives and left many others injured. At the centre of it all are the organisers and headlining act, rapper Travis Scott. 


However, latest media reports have claimed that the celebrated rapper has denied responsibility for the deaths of those attending his concert that took place in his hometown of Houston, Texas.

 
According to reports, more than 140 lawsuits have been filed so far against the rapper as well as organisers, including a mass litigation lawsuit filed by over 1,500 attendees. Almost all the lawsuits have alleged that the defendants, even Travis Scott, were negligent in their handling of the music festival and continued on with the concert even when the crowd numbers had spiraled way out of hand. Scott, however, has reportedly denied all the allegations.


In court papers filed in response to six lawsuits, which were obtained earlier this week by CNN, attorneys for Scott have asked for the cases to be dropped and banned from being brought up again. “Defendants generally deny the allegations set forth,” they said, reportedly. 


Families of victims have vehemently criticised the rapper's filings, labelling them as "shameful". Houston attorney James Lassiter told CNN that Scott "continues using social media to present a public image of someone who is grieved by the catastrophic loss of life that his actions caused” while “quietly paying celebrity lawyers to argue his victims deserve nothing more than symbolic help with funeral costs."


Soon after the tragedy took place, Travis Scott released a video statement, claiming he was “honestly just devastated” by what had happened. 


Scott has offered to cover the funeral costs of the Astroworld victims. However, at least one family, of the youngest victim Ezra Blount (9), has declined to take help from him. 


Another Houston attorney, Brent Coons, has demanded Scott pays $10bn to settle litigation from the tragedy. The attorney is reportedly representing 1,547 concertgoers, which the law firm said is the largest lawsuit to date. Lawyers have also asked the court to combine cases to speed up the litigation process.


“What happened at Astroworld was an unconscionable tragedy and it is important that justice is served for all those impacted,” said Coons.