Travis Scott removed from Coachella 2022 lineup
Over 60,000 people signed a petition to have Scott removed from the annual music festival following the Astroworld Festival tragedy.
Travis Scott has been removed from the 2022 line-up of the Coachella Festival. Jim Curtis, the community services manager for Indio, confirmed that Scott was no longer performing at the annual concert festival in Indio, California, as reported by Billboard.
Scott’s removal comes in the wake of the tragedy at his Astroworld Festival, where 10 people lost their lives as the result of a crowd surge during Scott’s Nov. 5 headlining set. Numerous lawsuits have been issued against Scott, Live Nation, and others. A petition at Change.org to have him cut from the Coachella line-up circulated, accumulating over 61,000 signatures, with a 75,000 signature threshold.
The petition stated that Scott should be taken out of the line-up due to his “gross negligence and sheer lack of compassion for human life” during his Astroworld set. It’s addressed to promotion company Goldenvoice, AEG, and Paul Tollett, founder of Coachella.
Cara Lewis, Scott’s agent, was informed by Coachella that Scott would be paid a kill fee of 25 percent of his agreed payment for being removed, according to Variety.
No fewer than 165 lawsuits have been filed against Scott over the incident. Last month, San Antonio-based attorney Thomas J. Henry filed a $2 billion lawsuit against Scott, representing a collective of 282 concertgoers suing Scott. This came after attorney Tony Buzbee filed a $750 million lawsuit against Scott on behalf of 125 people who were injured at Astroworld.
So far, Scott has requested that 11 of the lawsuits against him be dismissed, including those from Jessie Garcia, one of the Astroworld attendees, and Bhaghu Shahani, the father of Bharti Shahani, one of the 10 people who died. Shahani also listed Live Nation, ScoreMore, NRG Park, and multiple security companies with Scott in the suit.
Scott has filed “general denial,” a legal term that would allow him to submit “a blanket response” for all of the allegations against him in multiple civil suits. During an interview with the co-host of The Breakfast Club, Charlemagne Tha God, Scott spoke about the incident, indicating that his responsibility in the planning of Astroworld was mainly with artist curation and that security was orchestrated by others.
“As an artist, you just do the creative. And this to be my festival, I got to bring artists, creatively produce it,” Scott said. “We just trust the professionals to make sure that people are taken care of and leaving safely.”
Several families of victims have declined Scott’s offer to pay for funeral costs.
“If you gave a s— about these families, you wouldn’t have to put out a press release for everyone to see saying he’s willing to pay for a funeral,” Buzbee said. “He says he feels sorry for them, but he’s quick to say it wasn’t his fault. He’s no different than any defendant pointing fingers to someone else.”
Coachella is scheduled for April 15-17 and April 22-24 at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio.
Have you subscribed to the Grio podcasts, Dear Culture or Acting Up? Download our newest episodes now!
TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!
