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Tag: Astroworld tragedy

  • Dior indefinitely postpones Travis Scott collaboration line after Astroworld concert tragedy

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: Ahead of a launch slated for January 2022, Travis Scott and Dior have indefinitely postponed their ‘Cactus Jack Dior’ line of products. The news comes after a troubling few weeks for Scott, who has been hit with dozens of lawsuits following the Astroworld tragedy that left 10 people dead.

    According to The Hollywood Reporter, of the approximately 50,000 concertgoers who attended his Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas on November 5, hundreds more were injured. The capsule collection originally began as a collaboration between Dior men’s artistic director Kim Jones and Scott, who’s Cactus Jack brand spans music, fashion, and food and beverage.

    In a statement, representatives for Dior said, “Out of respect for everyone affected by the tragic events at Astroworld, Dior has decided to postpone indefinitely the launch of products from the Cactus Jack collaboration originally intended to be included in its summer 2022 collection.”

    Since the Astroworld tragedy, Scott’s Air Max 1, a two-sneaker collaboration with Nike, has been put on hold and Anheuser-Busch, Scott’s partner on the popular Cacti hard seltzer beverage, announced that the cans would be discontinued.

    Scott has gained a reputation for being an entrepreneurial rapper, counting brands like Nike, Jordan, McDonald’s, Epic Games, and Parsons School of Design as collaborators on various projects. The now-suspended launch is not the first time Scott has worked with Dior; the musician was the face of the luxury fashion house’s AIR DIOR capsule collection for their Men’s Fall-Winter 2020 show.

    But Scott’s shelved project would have been more uniquely his own, as the Cactus Jack Dior collection was designed to pay homage to his native Texas and the Dior brand’s Parisian heritage and connection to the American South. The collection was the first time Dior partnered with a musician on a collection and the first time it ever allowed its iconic logo to be altered.

    As of December 22, The House Committee on Oversight and Reform has launched an investigation into Live Nation, the event promotion and management company responsible for organising the Astroworld festival.

    In an open letter to Michael Rapino, Live Nation’s president-CEO, Carolyn B. Maloney, the committee’s chairwoman, has demanded a hearing before the close of January 2022.

  • Astroworld tragedy: Travis Scott says he was unaware of audience deaths until after show

    By Associated Press

    HOUSTON: Rapper Travis Scott said in an interview that he didn’t know that fans had died at his Astroworld festival in Houston until after his performance.

    In a lengthy interview with TV and radio personality, Charlamagne Tha God posted on YouTube on Thursday, Scott described from his perspective what happened at the Nov. 5 festival that left 10 people dead.

    “It wasn’t really until minutes before the press conference until I figured out exactly what happened. Even after the show, you’re just kind of hearing things, but I didn’t know the exact details until minutes before the press conference,” Scott said.

    He said he paused the performance a couple of times, but he couldn’t hear fans screaming for help.

    “I stopped like a couple of times just to make sure everybody was OK,” said Scott. “I just really go off the fans energy as a collective, you know? Call and response. I just didn’t, I just didn’t hear that.”

    Scott was the headliner and creator of the Astroworld festival, where 50,000 people were in the audience. Scott’s set turned deadly as fans surged toward the stage. The youngest victim was 9-year-old Ezra Blount. The others who died ranged in age from 14 to 27. Some 300 people were injured and treated at the festival site and 25 were taken to hospitals.

    More than 300 lawsuits have been filed so far in Houston and will be consolidated and handled by one judge. Scott, concert promoter Live Nation and other companies associated with the event are among those being sued. Additionally, Scott and the event organizers are the focus of a criminal investigation by Houston police. No one has been charged, and no timetable has been set for when the investigation would be completed.

    “Travis Scott, his entourage, handlers, promoters, managers, hangers on and everyone else who enable him are the problem,” said Tony Buzbee, an attorney representing the family of 21-year-old Axel Acosta Avila who died, in a statement provided to the AP on Thursday. “Everything that Travis Scott has done or said since ten people died and hundreds of others were injured at his concert has been lawyer driven and calculated to shift blame from him to someone else.”

    In the interview, Scott denied that his history of encouraging fans to rush the stage or push past security contributed to the chaos at Astroworld.

    “People didn’t just show up there to be harmful,” said Scott. “People showed up to have a good time and something unfortunate happened.”

    Scott said he had private discussions with some of the families of the victims. He also said that he understood why some families declined his offer to pay for funeral expenses.

    “I’m always going to be here to want to help them,” Scott said of the victims’ families. “I gotta continue to show up for that. I just wanted to make sure they knew that I was there for them and continue to be there for them.”

    Scott said that he wants to know more about what caused the deaths and be a leader in finding ways to prevent similar tragedies from happening at other live events.

    “I have a responsibility to figure out what happened here. I have a responsibility to figure out the solution,” said Scott.

  • Drake halts release of ‘Splash Brothers’ in wake of Astroworld tragedy

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: Grammy-winning artist Drake has halted the release of the upcoming song ‘Splash Brothers’ with rapper French Montana out of respect for the victims of the Astroworld tragedy.

    As per Variety, ‘Splash Brothers’ was set to appear on Montana’s fourth studio album ‘They Got Amnesia’, set to be released on November 19. The song will now likely be released on an upcoming deluxe edition of ‘Amnesia’.

    Montana and Drake have collaborated several times over the years, including on hits such as ‘Pop That’, ‘Stay Schemin’, ‘No Stylist’ and ‘No Shopping’.

    Drake, who was a special guest at the end of rapper Travis Scott’s Astroworld set, has since been named in several of the lawsuits that have followed the festival, which left 10 dead and several other attendees injured.

    Drake took to social media following the tragedy, writing, “I’ve spent the past few days trying to wrap my head around this devastating tragedy… My heart is broken for the families and friends of those who lost their lives and for anyone suffering.”

    Scott also responded immediately after the festival, writing, “I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival. Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life. I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need. Thank you to Houston PD, Fire Department and NRG Park for their immediate response and support. Love You All.”

    Montana’s ‘They Got Amnesia’ includes scores of other features, including contributions from John Legend, Rick Ross, Kodak Black, Pop Smoke, Lil Durk, Fivio Foreign, Doja Cat, Saweetie, Fabolous, Coi Leray, Ty Dolla $ign, Lil Tjay and more. 

  • Nike hits pause button for Travis Scott Air Max 1 launch due to Astroworld tragedy

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: In the wake of the Astroworld Festival tragedy, Nike announced on Monday that it is pausing its collaboration with rapper Travis Scott.

    As per People magazine, the popular company would be delaying the release of the Air Max 1 x Cactus Jack shoe “out of respect for everyone impacted by the tragic events at the Astroworld Festival.”

    The shoes were initially set to drop on December 16. Nike did not provide additional details on the collaboration.

    Scott began collaborating with Nike in 2017 with the release of his first Air Force 1 design. In June 2018, he followed up on the AF-1 with his baby blue Cactus Jack Air Jordan 4 with red accents.

    Scott’s other Nike partnerships over the last few years include the Air Jordan 33, the Air Jordan 1, Air Jordan 6, another pair of Air Forces, and the SB Dunk.

    Due to a fatal crowd surge at the Astroworld Festival on November 5, ten people died and more than 300 people were injured. At least 36 lawsuits have been filed against Scott and concert organisers over the incident.

    The victims have been identified as Ezra Blount, 9, Jacob Jurinek, 21, John Hilgert, 14, Brianna Rodriguez, 16, Franco Patino, 21, Axel Acosta, 21, Rudy Pena, 23, Madison Dubiski, 23, Danish Baig, 27, and Bharti Shahani, 22.

    Following the event, Scott posted a series of videos to his Instagram Story on Saturday, saying he was “horrified” by what happened at his show and pledging to help the victims’ families.

  • Travis Scott promises full refund to all Astroworld attendees

    By ANI

    WASHINGTON: Following the Houston Astroworld festival that left eight people dead, rapper Travis Scott and organisers have decided to offer full refunds to all those who bought tickets to attend the concert.

    Organiser company ScoreMore issued a statement on Instagram, providing an update about the incident and assuring full refunds.

    “We wanted to provide an update on the steps that Scoremore, Live Nation and the Astroworld Fest team have been taking. Throughout the weekend, we have been working to provide local authorities with everything they need from us in order to complete their investigation and get everyone the answers they are looking for,” the organisers said in a statement.

    The statement continued, “Our staff has met with local authorities to provide information, and we have also provided them with all footage from our CCTV cameras. Load out of the site and equipment is currently paused to give investigators the time they requested to walk and document the grounds. Full refunds are being offered for all those who purchased tickets. And most importantly we are working on ways to support attendees, the families of victims, and staff, from providing mental health counseling to setting up a health fund to help with costs for medical expenses. Our entire team is mourning alongside the community.”

    ALSO READ | Rappers Travis Scott, Drake sued over deadly Astroworld concert crush

    According to Variety, Travis has also decided to not perform at this weekend’s Day N Vegas Festival. Apart from refunding the tickets’ cost, Travis would also cover all funeral costs for the victims.

    For the unversed, the unfortunate incident occurred on November 5 when a surge in the tightly packed crowd for Scott’s set left at least eight concertgoers dead and over 300 others injured. A 14-year-old and a 16-year-old were among the casualties, with other victims ranging in age from 17 to 21.

    The second night of the festival, planned to unfold Saturday last week, was immediately cancelled as the extent of the casualties of the first night became evident.

  • Travis Scott issues statement on Astroworld tragedy

    By ANI

    HOUSTON: Rapper Travis Scott has issued a statement after the tragedy at his Astroworld festival in Houston, which left eight people dead and many injured on Friday night.

    Scott took to his Twitter handle to offer his condolences to the families of the people who lost their lives.

    He wrote, “I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival.”

    “Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life. I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need,” he added.

    pic.twitter.com/ijXKslw7E2
    — TRAVIS SCOTT (@trvisXX) November 6, 2021
    “Thank you to Houston PD, Fire Department and NRG Park for their immediate response and support. Love You All,” the rapper concluded.

    Scott also took to his Instagram Stories to speak about the issue at length. The 29-year-old rapper told his fans that he is hoping to reach the victims’ families.

    “I just want to send out prayers to the ones that was lost last night. We’re actually working right now to identify the families to assist them through this tough time,” he said.

    “My fans really mean the world to me, and I always want to leave them with a positive experience,” he added.

    The star said that he prioritized the safety of his fans at the festival: “Any time I can make out anything that’s going on, I’d stop the show and help them get the help they need, you know? I could never imagine this situation.”

    Scott added that he and his team have “been working closely with everyone to get to the bottom of this — City of Houston HPD, fire department — everyone, to help us figure this out” and told fans to contact authorities with any information.

    “Everybody continue to keep your prayers,” he said.

    “I mean, I’m honestly just devastated and I could never imagine anything like this happening. I’m going to do everything I can to keep you guys updated and keep you guys informed of what’s going on. Love you all,” Scott signed off.

    As per People magazine, Scott, who was arrested in 2017 for allegedly inciting a riot during a concert in Arkansas and later pled guilty to disorderly conduct, faced accusations from festival-goers on Saturday who claimed he continued to perform even after seeing distraught and injured fans in the audience. One festivalgoer, David McGilver, told the outlet that he was “upset” with Scott for not stopping the concert sooner.

    “I still can hear this in my head — I remember me being on the ground and the music stopping and I could hear [Travis] say, ‘Y’all know what y’all came here for.’ And you can hear everybody screaming out for help. And then the music just plays back again,” McGilver said.

    However, a source close to the musician told People magazine that Scott was unaware of the magnitude of the situation. “The lights were shining in his eyes and he couldn’t see what was happening,” the source said. “He thought someone had just passed out, which happens during concerts.” Scott is “in absolute pieces” and is a “mess about what happened. He’s incredibly upset about everything and horrified,” the source added.

    About 30 minutes into his set (which was streamed live on Apple Music), Scott briefly paused the show when he noticed an ambulance driving through the crowd. Later, he stopped his performance again and asked security to “jump in real quick” and help “somebody passed out right here.”

    Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner confirmed at a news conference on Saturday that eight people — ranging in age from 14 to 27 — died, while hundreds of other festival-goers reported injuries at NRG Park.

    50,000 fans attended the show, which led to a surge during Scott’s performance at the festival outside NRG Park. At a press conference following the concert, Houston fire chief Samuel Pena clarified the timeline. He said that the crowd began surging forward at 9 pm, as there was panic involving people running for safety.

    At that point, Scott paused his set several times to ask security to help out fans, and members of the fire department were sent into the dense crowd to rescue the injured. (ANI)