Following the tragedy at the Astroworld Festival last month, Travis Scott said that he would be covering the funeral expenses of those who lost their lives at the event. The families of several of the victims have publicly declined Scott’s offer.
Five of the victims’ families are saying that they would rather do without Scott’s contributions to the funerals. The family of the youngest victim, 9-year-old Ezra Blount, was the first to turn down his offer.
In an email reviewed by NBC on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021, the family’s lawyer, Bob Hilliard, wrote to the rapper’s attorney, “Your client’s offer is declined.”
“I have no doubt Mr. Scott feels remorse. His journey ahead will be painful. He must face and hopefully see that he bears some of the responsibility for this tragedy,” Hilliard added.
Hilliard wrote the email in response to an offer Scott’s attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, made to cover all funeral expenses.
Since the Blount family rebuffed Scott’s offer, four other families have followed suit with their representatives speaking out on their behalf.
Those who have also declined Scott’s gesture are Philip Corboy, the attorney for the families of 21-year-old concertgoers Jacob Jurinek and Franco Patino; Tony Buzbee, who represents the family of 21-year-old Axel Acosta; Richard Mithoff, attorney for the family of 14-year-old John Hilger; and Michael Lyons, attorney for the family of 27-year-old Danish Baig.
In a written statement to NBC on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021, Mithoff called the offer “demeaning and inappropriate given the magnitude of the tragedy.”
“The Hilgerts are not about to allow someone else to pay for their son’s funeral. It was one of the last things they could do for their son,” Mithoff wrote.
Philip Corboy believes that the way Scott’s team went about reaching out lacked a “personal touch” and didn’t show any signs of sincerity.
“If he’s trying to impress upon the families that he’s sincere and has concern for them, and realizes that funerals can be expensive, what Scott’s team did is not the way to do it. You don’t get a piece of paper in the mail from a lawyer in Beverly Hills who says he represents Travis Scott,” Corboy told Rolling Stone.
