A judge has rejected the motion to dismiss numerous lawsuits filed against rapper Travis Scott for his involvement in the tragic 2021 Astroworld festival, where 10 individuals lost their lives in a crowd surge.
As we previously reported, Scott attempted to get dismissed from the civil litigation because he felt like crowd safety wasn’t his responsibility. State District Judge Kristen Hawkins responded to the rapper’s request on Tuesday and denied it.
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Drake was also named as a defendant in some of the lawsuits because he was being accused of assisting with the crowd getting hype and going into a frenzy when he walked out on stage. Drake previously made it clear that he had nothing to do with the crowd getting so hype and she shouldn’t be sued for showing up as a surprise guest. He also added that he wasn’t involved in the event planning so he’s not responsible for the injuries and deaths that occurred that day. Which led to Drake being dismissed from all of the claims against him.
In the filing Travis Scott’s attorney stated, “performers are not expected to render special protection to the audience, nor to safeguard them from the rest of the crowd.” His attorneys further argued Scott was a performer and not responsible for crowd safety and management.
As we previously shared, multiple victims have filed lawsuits following the tragic incident. Shanazia Williamson and her husband, Jarawd Owens, attended the festival back in November and were trampled during the crowd surge, resulting in injuries to her back, shoulder, chest, leg, and stomach. According to TMZ, Williamson’s lawsuit claims that event staff failed “to plan, design, manage, operate, staff, and supervise the event was a direct and proximate cause of Shanazia’s injuries and death of her and Jarawd’s unborn child.” Williamson filed the lawsuit last December describing the injuries she sustained on November 21, 2021, and filed for wrongful death in an amended complaint.
The amended complaint also stated Williamson sustained injuries to her stomach but she didn’t disclose how far along she was in her pregnancy. Texas law also says if a fetus dies due to negligence, the parents have the right to sue for wrongful death.
“While in attendance at the festival, Shanazia was trampled and crushed resulting in horrific injuries and ultimately the death of her and Jarawd’s unborn child,” the suit states. “In addition, Shanazia sustained injuries to her shoulder, back, leg, chest, stomach and other parts of her body.”
Security companies Valle Services SMG, ASM Global, and Harris County Sports and Convention Corp. were also listed in the lawsuit and were accused of failing to provide adequate security measures and medical personnel. Additionally, they were also accused of failing to oversee the potential hazards during the event.