Drake breaks silence on the Astroworld tragedy: ‘My heart is broken’

‘I’ve spent the last few days trying to wrap my mind around this devastating tragedy,’ rapper said

Drake has released his first statement following the deadly crowd surge at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival on Friday (5 November).

The 35-year-old rapper, who performed next to Scott at the Houston festival, revealed that he spent the past few days trying to “wrap” his mind around “this devastating tragedy”.

“I hate resorting to this platform to express an emotion as delicate as grief but this is where I find myself,” Drake, whose real name is Aubrey Graham, wrote on Tuesday (9 November).

“My heart is broken for families and friends of those who lost their lives and for anyone who’s suffering,” he continued. “I will continue to pray for all of them and will be of service in any way I can. May God be with you all.”

Eight people died and more were injured when fans suddenly surged towards the stage during a performance by Scott on Friday (5 November) in Texas.

City officials told Associated Press they were in the early stages of investigating what caused the incident at the event, which was attended by approximately 50,000 people.

Drake’s statement comes after Scott spoke out about the incident on Saturday (6 November).

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

Both Drake and Scott, along with venue and entertainment company Live Nation, are being sued over the Astroworld tragedy.

A civil suit by plaintiff Kristian Paredes against the two rappers blames them for negligently inciting “a riot and violence”.

The suit states that Drake “helped incite the crowd even though he knew of [Scott’s] prior conduct,” of inciting “mayhem and chaos at prior events.”

However, the suit, reviewed by CBS News, did not provide any examples of such conduct.

Since the tragedy took place, Scott has offered to cover the costs of the funerals for the eight victims who lost their lives.

The rapper is also partnering with BetterHelp to provide free therapy for anyone impacted by the tragedy and has promised that all tickets of the festival will be refunded.

Follow The Independent’s live blog about the tragedy here.