Nike delays release of Travis Scott sneakers due to Astroworld Festival tragedy
The sports apparel giant says the delay is "out of respect for everyone impacted."
The scheduled release of Nike and Travis Scott’s latest shoe collaboration is being delayed indefinitely due to the Astroworld tragedy.
The sports apparel maker’s Air Max 1 x Cactus Jack sneakers were set to go on sale at 7 a.m. on Dec. 16, according to TMZ, but an update on Nike’s SNKRS app posted Monday confirmed the company is hitting pause on the shoe drop for now.
Ten people have died as a result of injuries they received at the Astroworld Festival earlier this month, according to the Houston Chronicle. Nine-year-old Ezra Blount succumbed to his injuries on Sunday after spending days on life support after he was trampled at the Nov. 5 concert.
More than 100 lawsuits have been filed against concert promoter Live Nation, Scott, and special guest performer Drake as a result of the tragedy.
“Out of respect for everyone impacted by the tragic events at the Astroworld Festival, we are postponing the launch of the Air Max 1 x Cactus Jack,” a Nike statement on the app said Monday.
Nike did not immediately respond Tuesday morning to phone calls and emails requesting comment. The retail giant has been collaborating with Scott on shoe releases since at least 2017, according to Harper’s Bazaar. The 30-year-old “Sicko Mode” rapper became the face of Nike’s Air Vapor Max “Day to Night” collection the same year and has since partnered with the company on a number of limited shoe releases.
Before the Astroworld tragedy, Scott was easily one of the most bankable brand names in hip hop. Forbes has Scott ranked 82 on its list of the 100 highest-paid celebrities, with an estimated net worth of $39.5M. The business mag dubbed Scott “Corporate America’s Brand Whisperer” a year ago.
The Houston native’s 2018 album Astroworld helped catapult his business dealings to another level.
Nearly 28 million people, who were forced to shelter in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, watched Scott’s virtual concert on Fortnite in April of 2020. Forbes says Fortnite paid Scott $20M in conjunction with the deal, which at the time was regarded as one of the platform’s best live performances.
In the aftermath of the Astroworld tragedy earlier this month, however, Fortnite opted to halt the sale of its Travis Scott emote, according to The Verge.
Last year, McDonald’s announced the limited release of its Cactus Jack x McDonald’s Extra Value Meal. The move made Scott the first celebrity to have his or her name on the burger maker’s menu since Michael Jordan‘s “McJordan” nearly three decades prior, according to CNN Business.
Earlier this year, Anheuser-Busch rolled out the Cacti Agave Spiked Seltzer collaboration with Scott after announcing the move in December.
According to a recent New York Post report, W Magazine is trying to pull its latest cover before it hits newsstands as it was to feature Scott with his girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, who is currently pregnant with their second child. Jenner and her sister Kendall attended the festival.
“W editors have cleared any planned coverage of Travis and Kylie from their website, but the magazine was already printed, and now they are trying to stop the delivery trucks,” a W Magazine source told Page Six.
“In the light of what happened at Astroworld, the interview and cover lines seem inappropriate, to say the least.”
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