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Travis Scott Fires Back After Being Criticized for Stopping Show
Travis Scott is coming under fire after he stopped a recent show out of concern for fans’ safety.
The rapper was performing in Coney Island over the Fourth of July holiday when he noticed a couple of concertgoers climbing up a lighting truss and dangling over the crowd. After seeing the potential danger, Travis told them to get down, while checking to make sure they were OK.
But not everyone saw it as an act of compassion. The attorney for Astroworld’s youngest victim, Ezra Blount, told TMZ that Travis’ actions do not prove that he cares about safety.
“He knows exactly how to keep his fans safe during a concert, but the problem with that is he didn’t just learn about the fact that he has control over the entire crowd,” said Alex Hilliard.
“There are 10 people that would still be alive today, including young Ezra Blount, if Travis realized his responsibility as an artist goes further than just trying to rile up his crowds, and it reemphasizes the rule of ‘if you see something say something.'”
The Blount family is suing Travis and Live Nation for at least $1 million after the 9-year-old was killed during a crowd surge at the Houston festival.
A rep for Travis has fired back at Hilliard’s claims that Travis was insincere with his actions, insisting that the criticism was done to sway potential jurors.
“This is the despicable, cynical height of hypocrisy,” the rep told TMZ. “It’s beyond disappointing to see that – in a desperate bid to influence potential jurors – plaintiffs’ legal team is criticizing Travis for pausing Monday’s Coney Island show to ensure that fans can have fun safely. This is exactly the wrong message to send to fans – and to artists. And it completely ignores the fact that Travis also stopped his performance at Astroworld three different times.”
Travis continues to face numerous lawsuits over the deadly festival, which resulted in 10 deaths and hundreds of injuries.