I would too if I were him. Whether he should or he will is another matter.
Houston-born rapper Travis Scott said he should not be held personally responsible for the deaths of 10 people who died in the crushing crowds of his 2021 Astroworld concert, court records show.
In a new motion filed in Harris County 11th Civil District Court this week, Scott — whose real name is Jacques Bermon Webster II — asked for a summary judgment in his favor, which would remove him from the sprawling lawsuit brought against dozens of companies and individuals connected to the concert by hundreds of victims of the tragedy.
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In his motion, Scott argued the plaintiffs’ lawyers hadn’t proven that he or his touring company, XX Global, could be held responsible for injuries people suffered while trying to watch his performance.
“Performers are not expected to render special protection to the audience, nor to safeguard them from the rest of the crowd,” the motion read.
Texas law doesn’t require performers or promoters to protect audience members, the motion reads. And even if it did, Scott’s lawyers said he supported efforts to make more room on the festival grounds by removing rides and ended the show when he was directed to.
“No one disputes that tragedy struck the Astroworld Festival,” the motion read. “But promoting and performing at at a concert do not equate to the power to control a crowd or to design a venue safely.”
In his filing, Scott acknowledged that he “conceived” of the Astroworld concert as an ode to Houston’s defunct amusement park, and that he had some responsibilities for the concert planning: including arranging musical acts, marketing and his own performance.
But Scott said it was understood he was not responsible for venue security, safety or the site’s layout.
In separate motions, other companies connected to Scott, including his Cactus Jack Records label, have sought their own summary judgments.
The record company in a March 11 filing said the plaintiffs’ attorneys had shown “no evidence” that it was responsible for Astroworld.
A grand jury in June declined to indict Scott and others on criminal charges related to the concert.
See here for previous coverage. As noted in the story, several other defendants filed similar motions earlier in the week. I don’t have an opinion on this one as well, though on a gut level Scott seems to me to have some amount of culpability. That has nothing to do with what the law says, of course. Hearings for these and I presume other motions will be heard beginning this week. I’m very interested to see what else comes out of this.