‘He is not responsible’: Travis Scott spokesperson claims rapper wouldn’t have been able to stop concert
Former Baltimore mayor said idea rapper could end show was ‘ludicrous’
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Your support makes all the difference.Travis Scott is not responsible for the deadly Astroworld crowd surge that left at least nine people dead, a spokesperson for the rapper said.
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, the former mayor of Baltimore, defended the hip-hop star and said he did not have the ability to stop the fatal Texas show that also left hundreds of people injured.
“I mean this notion that Travis had the ability to stop the concert is ludicrous,” she told CBS This Morning.
“They have a 59-page operations plan, and it clearly says the only two people that have the authority to stop the concert were the executive producer and the concert producer.”
And she added: “He was not responsible for this, but he wants to be responsible for the solution.
“And I’m here to make sure that we can connect the dots and to make sure that this tragedy – that there’s a lesson out of this tragedy and something like this doesn’t happen again.”
Mr Scott was unaware of the tragedy that unfolded at the concert in Houston “until well later, hours and hours later,” added Ms Rawlings-Blake.
She said the rapper had paused his performance several times to try and get a read on what was happening in the crowd, but could not tell what was happening.
The death toll climbed to nine when after 22-year-old college student Bharti Shahani died from her injuries.
Houston’s fire chief has said that Mr Scott should have stopped his performance when the crowd surge began.
“We all have a responsibility. Everybody at that event has a responsibility. Starting from the artist on down,” Chief Samuel Peña said earlier this week.
“At one point, there was an ambulance that was trying to make its way through the crowd. And he’s got, the artist has, command of that crowd.”
The rapper, whose real name is Jacques Webster, has also pent the week since the tragedy reaching out to the families of victims, his spokesperson added.
“He’s reached out to all of the families. I’ve reached out to the latest unfortunate victim to let them know that in their time, he’s there – he’s here to help if they want it,” she added.
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