Public Enemy frontman Chuck D is defending Travis Scott and says the Houston rapper is not the one to blame for the deaths and injuries that occurred at Astroworld Music Festival on Nov. 5 that left 10 people dead and hundreds injured. The “Don’t Believe The Hype” veteran MC issued a statement and called out Live Nation, warning other promotion companies that they need to reevaluate how they organize entertainment events.
Roughly 50,000 people attended the sold-out event at NRG Park, which left ten people dead and over 300 injured after the crowd rushed the stage causing people to be trampled.
“I cannot believe we’re at a point where I gotta say this out loud: Travis Scott is a performer, an act, not a concert promoter. He doesn’t run the sound or venues or festivals or their staff. He doesn’t build stages or coordinate logistics. He’s not an expert in crowd control or security or emergency medical services, but he does trust Live Nation and all the other concert promoters who are supposed to do all of this. And yet here we are, 10 deaths and counting. Ten broken families. The world is mourning,” Chuck D stated in his letter.
The letter comes after several hundred million dollar lawsuits have been filed and most recently one for a billion. San Antonio-based attorney Thomas J. Henry filed the $2 billion lawsuit on Nov. 18 on behalf of 282 victims, and it’s targeting a long list of defendants that include Scott, Drake, Apple Music, Live Nation and the NRG Stadium.
“The defendants stood to make an exorbitant amount of money off of this event, and they still chose to cut corners, cut costs, and put attendees at risk. My clients want to ensure the defendants are held responsible for their actions, and they want to send the message to all performers, event organizers, and promoters that what happened at Astroworld cannot happen again,” Henry explained in a statement.
Take a look at Chuck D’s statement below as he makes his point that artists shouldn’t be blamed for the travesty.
