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Travis Scott privately settles lawsuit with family of young Astroworld victim

Terms of the confidential settlement are unknown

Amanda Whiting
Friday 21 October 2022 05:43 BST
Astroworld crowd chants for show to be stopped

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Travis Scott has settled a lawsuit related to the tragedy at 2021’s Astroworld Festival, in which 10 people were killed in Houston, Texas.

The victims died of compression asphyxia during a massive crowd surge at the concert. Hundreds were left injured.

Since then, Scott has been named as a defendant in several lawsuits brought by victim’s families. In an Instagram press release, Tony Buzbee, an attorney for the family of Axel Acosta, announced a “confidential” settlement had been reached between his clients and those named in their suit, writing: “Travis Scott, Live Nation, and others involved in the Astroworld tragedy have settled.”

Acosta was 21 years old when he died.

Buzbee’s marks the first public announcement of a settlement in the legal disputes stemming from the Astroworld tragedy. According to a report from an ABC affiliate, the family of 16-year-old victim Brianna Rodriguez from Houston has also settled their lawsuit out of court.

Following the mass casualty event, Houston officials partnered with the FBI to investigate.

The FBI launched a website to facilitate the collection of evidence, encouraging concert-goers to “submit any videos, photos, or audio recordings that may assist the investigation into the injuries and deaths of individuals who attended the Astroworld Festival at NRG Park”.

Texas governor Greg Abbott launched a task force to study safety at the state’s entertainment venues.

In January 2022, a Texas court approved the consolidation of hundreds of lawsuits filed against Scott and Live Nation into a single case. That case, which asborbed over 350 individual lawsuits, is still pending.

Scott has expressed his remorse over what happened in Houston last November. The morning after the incident, he posted a statement to social media. “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.”

Astroworld crowd
Astroworld crowd (2021)

His message concluded: “I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need.”

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While performing in Brooklyn this July, Scott halted the show to ask fans who had climbed a lighting truss near the stage to get down. “We need you all to get down, we need you all to get down,” he said.

He proceeded to offer more instructions to the crowd throughout the performance, including to concert-goers who had climbed the lighting cage again.

Scott played London’s O2 in August.

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