Travis Scott has dropped out of his headlining appearance at this weekend’s Day N Vegas Festival.
The hip hop star pulled out of the upcoming event at Las Vegas Festival Grounds following the deadly tragedy at his Astroworld Festival in Houston on Friday. He was scheduled for the main stage from 10:45 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. Saturday night. No word yet from festival promoter AEG about his replacement, per Variety.
Eight people were killed at Astroworld, ranging in age from 14 to 27, and hundreds were injured during a violent “crowd surge” in the 50,000-person crowd.
Scott is said to be “too distraught to play” at the Day N Vegas Festival. According to Variety, he will provide full refunds for all attendees who purchased tickets to Astroworld.
He released two statements following the deadly tragedy, including his video response below. The hip hop star is offering to pay funeral costs for the families of the eight people who passed away at the concert, TMZ reports.
“I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival,” Scott said in the statement on Twitter.
“Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life. I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need. Thank you to Houston PD, Fire Department, and NRG Park for their immediate response and support. Love you all,” Scott added.
Scott’s partner, Kylie Jenner, also took to Instagram to defend the rapper. “Travis and I are broken and devastated. My thoughts and prayers are with all who lost their lives, were injured or affected in any way by yesterday’s events,” Jenner wrote.
“And also for Travis who I know cares deeply for his fans and the Houston community, I want to make it clear we weren’t aware of any fatalities until the news came out after the show, and in no world would have continued filming or performing. I am sending my deepest condolences to all the families during this difficult time and will be praying for the healing of everyone who has been impacted.”
As of press time, Scott has two pending lawsuits related to the tragedy: Attendee Kristian Paredes, 23, named him, and fellow rapper Drake in a lawsuit for over $1 million. The rappers and repeat collaborators were named alongside entertainment company Live Nation in the negligence lawsuit.
Paredes alleges in the suit that Scott and Drake helped “incite” the crowd on Friday night, failing to call for safety measures once it became clear that fans had become excessively rowdy.
Concertgoer Manuel Souza, who shared Paredes’ sentiments about an overall lack of planning and organization around event safety, filed a lawsuit naming Live Nation and Scott Saturday.
“Defendants failed to properly plan and conduct the concert in a safe manner,” wrote Steve Kherkher, Souza’s attorney, in a lawsuit obtained by Billboard. “Instead, they consciously ignored the extreme risks of harm to concertgoers, and, in some cases actively encouraged and fomented dangerous behaviors.”
Festival organizers are also accused in the suit of ignoring red flags throughout the day leading up to the incident, including when concertgoers allegedly “breached a security gate around the park, stampeded into the premises, and trampled over one another” causing “serious obvious injury” to many.
Scott, real name Jacques Berman Webster II, announced in April that the third edition of the festival would add an extra day of shows, as reported by Rolling Stone. Astroworld Fest officials canceled Saturday’s lineup after the deadly event, shortening the two-day music festival, according to NBC News.
Scott has teamed with the mental health professionals at BetterHelp to offer free services to anyone who attended Astroworld Fest and is in need of a one-on-one virtual therapy to help process the trauma.
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