Seeing a favorite artist should be the best day of your life, right?
The opposite occurred at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival Nov. 5. A crowd surge at the Houston concert left eight people dead and multiple critically injured from the amount of people at the base of the stage.
The rap artist is now under fire — and investigation — for neglect of his fans’ wellbeing.
Scott’s concert is now considered one of the deadliest in U.S. history. The tragedy is comparable to The Who’s tour in 1979, in which fans crowded the standing room space, 11 were reported dead with 26 seriously injured. The infamous stampede in 1979 re-occurred, only this time it was during a mosh pit.
In viral videos surfacing on TikTok and Twitter, crowds were seen pleading for help over the rapper’s lyrics — only to be ignored. One fan even climbed up onto the stage where Scott was singing to alert someone that “there’s someone dead in there.” She was escorted away.
Fans even chanted, “stop the show” to get Scott’s attention. He kept on singing.
The show went on for more than 40 minutes during the stampede. The blatant disregard for human health and safety is apparent in the videos that went viral on social media.
“Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life,” Scott tweeted Nov. 6. “I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need.”
If only Scott would have noticed during his performance, casualties may have never occurred.
Basil Baig, the brother of one of the victims, issued this statement regarding his brother’s death, “Travis Scott and his team and everyone associated in the event should and will be held responsible. He [didn’t] stop the show even with people chanting to stop the show. He allowed it; this was a bloodbath and all of it is on his hands.”
More videos of other artists are going viral, but for a positive reason. Adele, Harry Styles and Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots, stopped their shows when a member of their crowd passed out or looked sick. Bottles of water were thrown from the stage and medics were alerted. This is how you treat fans, show them you care and give them respect.
Travis Scott’s massacre gives a forewarning to concert goers. Be careful who you see and where you go — it might be your last.
