Travis Scott’s conduct at past concerts, including an incident that left a fan paralyzed in 2017, is being called into question after the deadly Astroworld Festival on Friday (November 5th).
The Astroworld founder has twice been found guilty of encouraging fans to rush the stage and has been sued for allegedly “inciting the crowd” at Friday night’s show in Houston, Texas.
A lawyer for Kyle Green – the 27-year-old who was paralyzed after falling from a balcony at the rapper’s New York concert in April 2017 – has said his client is “heartbroken” about the Astroworld tragedy, which left eight people dead.
Green is angry that Scott has not “learned his lesson.”
“He’s even more incensed by the fact that it could have been avoided had Travis learned his lesson in the past and changed his attitude about inciting people to behave in such a reckless manner,” Howard Hershenhorn told Rolling Stone.
Green says he was forced over a balcony after Scott encouraged another fan in the same area to jump.
“I see you, but are you gonna do it?’ the rapper reportedly said at the time, assuring the jumper he’d be safe. “They gonna catch you. Don’t be scared. Don’t be scared!”
Green broke several bones and vertebrae and can only walk with a “significant, significant disability,” according to his lawyer.
At 2015’s Lollapalooza show in Chicago, Travis Scott pled guilty to misdemeanor reckless conduct after urging fans to jump a security barricade.
And at an outdoor venue in Arkansas in 2017, he told fans to skip security and rush the stage, later pleading guilty to disorderly conduct.
Now Travis, who has denied he was aware that anyone was in danger during his sold-out Astroworld set, has been sued for $1 million by festival goer Kristian Paredes, 23, from Austin, Texas.
Paredes claims Travis and Drake – who is also named in the suit – are guilty of “inciting the crowd.”
She is also charging concert promoters at Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and officials at Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation of negligence.
The Canadian rapper made a surprise appearance at the show and shared the stage with Scott.
While Travis did stop the show on several occasions to ask the audience to make space for people who had passed out, Paredes is the first to suggest he was inciting the crowd to rush the stage.
Travis Scott tweeted in May that he was still trying to sneak fans in after the Astroworld Festival sold out within hours. “We still sneaking the wild ones in,” read the tweet, which has now been deleted.
Houston police are still investigating what caused the deadly surge and who is at fault.