<ul class="summary-list"><li>A deadly crowd surge at <keyword id="11910746" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="travis-scott" source="Orion">Travis Scott</keyword>'s <keyword id="12479178" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="astroworld" source="Orion">Astroworld</keyword> festival last month killed 10 and injured hundreds.</li><li>Scott made his first public appearance since the incident in a Thursday interview with Charlamagne tha God.</li></ul>A lawyer representing Astroworld victims told Insider that Travis Scott's first lengthy interview Thursday since the festival proved that the hip hop artist and others knew of the dangers of the festival.In a <a href="https://youtu.be/FS9SvGvbSgw">51-minute interview</a> with Charlamagne tha God, Scott said he was unaware of the dangers and injuries in the crowd. It was his first public appearance since the festival that resulted in a crowd surge <a href="https://www.insider.com/astroworld-victims-list-of-dead-includers-9th-grader-college-friends-2021-11">killing 10</a> and injuring hundreds of others.Scott said the energy from the concert felt like "a regular show," adding that the crowd members were there to "have a good time," not to cause "harm."Attendees described the deadly surge at the concert <a href="https://www.insider.com/astroworld-attendee-crowd-surge-like-game-of-thrones-battle-scene-2021-11">as a battle scene</a> from "Game of Thrones" and a "<a href="https://www.insider.com/astroworld-attendee-concert-became-a-fight-for-survival-2021-11">fight for survival</a>."During the interview, the rapper claimed that he "didn't know the exact details until minutes before the press conference," which took place after he performed.Scott also <a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-wasnt-told-astroworld-mass-casualty-during-performance-lawyer-2021-11">previously claimed</a> that he was not told his festival had turned into a "mass casualty event" while he was on stage, and he performed for <a href="https://www.insider.com/how-travis-scott-astroworld-crowd-surge-unfolded-2021-11">an additional 30 minutes</a> following the declaration. "People pass out, things happen at concerts, but something like that..." he added without finishing his sentence. He told Charlamagne tha God that he even stopped the concert on a few occasions to make sure audience members were okay.<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FS9SvGvbSgw" frameborder="0"></iframe>Robert C. Hilliard, attorney for the family of 9-year-old <keyword id="12533627" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ezra-blount" source="Orion">Ezra Blount</keyword>, <a href="https://www.insider.com/astroworld-victims-family-rejects-travis-scotts-offer-cover-funeral-costs-2021-11">the youngest festival victim</a>, rejected Scott's claim that he wasn't aware of the dangers in the crowd."It is clear from carefully watching Mr. Scott's interview that he and others were clearly aware of the potential safety dangers of this concert and of the catastrophic deficiencies that led to these terrible deaths and injuries," Hilliard wrote in an email to Insider.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/astroworld-festival-deaths-business-lifestyle-arts-and-entertainment-houston-17b85360b6ac4b242dd47e802225d02d">Several families</a> of the people who died <a href="https://apnews.com/article/astroworld-festival-deaths-business-lifestyle-arts-and-entertainment-houston-17b85360b6ac4b242dd47e802225d02d">rejected Scott's attempt</a> to pay for funeral costs. Scott said he was "devastated" by the event and their deaths but also denied legal responsibility, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/07/us/travis-scott-denies-astroworld-liability/index.html">according to CNN</a>. On Monday, Scott asked for 11 of the cases against him to be "dismissed with prejudice," <a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-asked-judge-to-dismiss-astroworld-lawsuit-against-him-2021-12">Insider previously reported</a>. When asked by Charlamagne tha God if he felt responsible for the tragedy, Scott responded saying he has "a responsibility to figure out what happened here.""I have a responsibility to figure out the solution," the rapper continued.Hilliard agreed with Scott that a "solution" for the families of victims and attendees should be found, but Hilliard said that solution does not include Scott and others involved in his festival to continue to "dodge responsibility for this tragedy.""I am asking that the defendants, including Mr. Scott, not allow this litigation, and the pain of the families as a result, to be unduly prolonged through delay," Hilliard told Insider. "We need to get to the full unvarnished truth as quickly as possible so healing can begin."Scott's legal team did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

A lawyer for a 9-year-old Astroworld victim said Travis Scott and 'others were clearly aware of the dangers' at the music festival

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A 9-year-old boy has died after being trampled at <keyword id="12479178" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="astroworld" source="Orion">Astroworld</keyword>, his family's attorneys said.</li><li><keyword id="12533627" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ezra-blount" source="Orion">Ezra Blount</keyword> fell off his father's shoulders amid a crowd surge and spent days on life support.</li></ul>A 9-year-old boy who was put on life support after being trampled at rapper <keyword id="11910746" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="travis-scott" source="Orion">Travis Scott</keyword>'s Astroworld Festival died from his injuries on Sunday, said representatives of his family.Ezra Blount is the youngest of 10 victims who lost their lives in a deadly crush at the concert on November 5."The Blount family tonight is grieving the incomprehensible loss of their precious young son," wrote his family's attorney Ben Crump and his team in a statement seen by Insider. "This should not have been the outcome of taking their son to a concert, what should have been a joyful celebration."Blount was attending the concert with his father, Treston Blount, when the crowd started to compress after Scott appeared on stage. <a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-astroworld-at-least-8-dead-hundreds-injured-as-crowd-surged-2021-11">Authorities said there</a> were around 50,000 people in attendance.Blount was sitting on his father's shoulders when concertgoers started to push. His dad couldn't breathe and lost consciousness, the boy's grandfather told <a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-astroworld-at-least-8-dead-hundreds-injured-as-crowd-surged-2021-11">KTRK-TV</a>. "And when he passed out, Ezra fell into the crowd. He was trampled really bad," he said.By the time the elder Treston regained consciousness, his son had already been admitted to the hospital and put on life support, with severe damage to the boy's major organs and brain, according to <a href="https://abc13.com/astroworld-festival-tragedy-ezra-blount-child-injured-at-travis-scott-concert-2021/11236835/">Houston-based outlet ABC13.</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/father-of-boy-coma-after-astroworld-trampling-sues-travis-scott-2021-11">Treston later filed a $1 million lawsuit</a> against Scott and the event organizers. "<a href="https://www.insider.com/astroworld-father-9-year-old-coma-not-ready-lose-son-2021-11">I'm not ready to lose my boy at all</a>. We got a bunch of living to do... that's my boy," he told KTRK-TV.<a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/recovery-of-ezra-astrosfest?member=15140253&amp;sharetype=teams&amp;utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&amp;utm_medium=copy_link&amp;utm_source=customer_source=customer">A GoFundMe page</a> started by Treston to support Ezra's recovery raised nearly $70,000 as of Sunday night.Ezra's death brings the festival's death count to 10. The victims who died were aged between 9 and 27, and <a href="https://www.insider.com/astroworld-victims-list-of-dead-includers-9th-grader-college-friends-2021-11">include a 9th grader and a 16-year-old dancer.</a> Hundreds of other concertgoers <a href="https://www.insider.com/astroworld-planned-for-mass-casualty-situation-but-not-crowd-crush-2021-11">were injured.</a>Scott said in a <a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-absolutely-devastated-after-8-die-at-astroworld-2021-11">November 6 statement</a> that he was "absolutely devastated" by the stampede. "My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival," <a href="https://twitter.com/trvisXX/status/1457018948109705217">he wrote in a tweet.</a>His girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, <a href="https://www.insider.com/astroworld-kylie-jenner-says-they-werent-aware-fatalities-during-show-2021-11">released a statement on her Instagram story</a> the next day. "I want to make it clear we weren't aware of any fatalities until the <keyword id="11893589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news" source="Orion">news</keyword> came out after the show and in no world would have continued filming or performing," Jenner wrote.Crump did not immediately respond to Insider's request for additional comment. Scott and Astroworld organizers did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment on Blount's death.

Ezra Blount, the 9-year-old boy trampled at Astroworld, has died from his injuries after being on life support for days

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Ezra Blount, 9, is fighting for his life after being trampled at <keyword id="11910746" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="travis-scott" source="Orion">Travis Scott</keyword>'s <keyword id="12479178" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="astroworld" source="Orion">Astroworld</keyword> festival.</li><li>Blount was on his father's shoulders when he fell into the crowd.</li></ul>A nine-year-old boy is in a coma after he fell off his father's shoulders and was trampled at the rapper <a href="https://www.insider.com/videos-travis-scott-astroworld-concert-crowd-stampede-2021-11">Travis Scott's Astroworld</a> concert in Houston, Texas, last Friday, <a href="https://abc13.com/9-year-old-boy-young-astroworld-victim-ezra-blount-2021/11213351/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">KTRK-TV reported</a>.Ezra Blount's father had put the boy on his shoulders to keep him out of the crowd, and the boy fell off when his father passed out, Blount's grandfather told KTRK-TV."My son had Ezra on his shoulders at the concert and my son couldn't breathe because of all the pressure that was being applied to him and he passed out," the boy's grandfather told KTRK-TV."And when he passed out, Ezra fell into the crowd. He was trampled really bad," he said.When Blount's father woke up at the festival's medical station, the nine-year-old had already been taken to the hospital with cardiac arrest, KTRK-TV reported.Blount is <a href="https://www.insider.com/astroworld-attendee-concert-became-a-fight-for-survival-2021-11">among the hundreds of people</a> at the Astroworld Festival who were injured as a result of the crowd crush, which erupted when Scott came on stage. At least eight people, <a href="https://www.insider.com/astroworld-victims-list-of-dead-includers-9th-grader-college-friends-2021-11">aged between 14 and 27 years old</a>, died.As of Monday night, Blount was in a medically-induced coma after suffering severe damage to major organs, including his kidney, lungs, and heart, his grandfather KTRK-TV. Blount's family is seeking accountability and has since hired the attorney Ben Crump to represent them, <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/11/08/9-year-old-in-coma-after-astroworld-crush-report/">the New York Post reported</a>. Crump is a prominent civil-rights lawyer who has represented the families of <a href="https://www.insider.com/ben-crump-civil-rights-cases-ahmaud-arbery-george-floyd-2020-6">George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor</a>."The suffering that this family is going through is immeasurable. This little boy had his whole life ahead of him - a life that is currently hanging in the balance because of the reckless mismanagement that ensued at the Astroworld Festival," Crump said in a statement, according to the New York Post."We demand justice for EB, his family, and all of our clients that left Astroworld with trauma," Crump said, using the boy's initials.A <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/recovery-of-ezra-astrosfest?member=15140253&amp;sharetype=teams&amp;utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&amp;utm_medium=copy_link&amp;utm_source=customer_source=customer" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">GoFundMe </a>has been set up to help the family with their expenses.

A 9-year-old is in a coma after he fell off his dad's shoulders at Astroworld and was trampled

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The father of a 9-year-old on life support following the <keyword id="12479178" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="astroworld" source="Orion">Astroworld</keyword> Festival said he's "not ready to lose" his son.</li><li>"We still got a bunch of living to do," Treston Blount said, according to <a href="https://abc13.com/astroworld-festival-tragedy-ezra-blount-child-injured-at-travis-scott-concert-attorney-ben-crump/11227817/">KTRK-TV.</a></li></ul>The father of a 9-year-old boy on life support following <keyword id="11910746" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="travis-scott" source="Orion">Travis Scott</keyword>'s Astroworld Festival said he's "not ready to lose" his son.Treston Blount's son, Ezra, a fan of the rapper, was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/astroworld-nine-year-old-boy-fell-off-dad-shoulders-trampled-2021-11">trampled amid a crowd surge</a> during last week's concert at NRG Park in <keyword id="11922277" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="houston" source="Orion">Houston</keyword> that left <a href="https://www.insider.com/astroworld-victims-list-of-dead-includers-9th-grader-college-friends-2021-11">nine dead</a> and hundreds injured. Blount told <a href="https://abc13.com/astroworld-festival-tragedy-ezra-blount-child-injured-at-travis-scott-concert-attorney-ben-crump/11227817/">KTRK-TV</a> that his son "was so stoked" to attend the concert. During the event, the two reportedly stood towards the back of the crowd, and Blount held his son on his shoulders. But Blount told the <keyword id="11893589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news" source="Orion">news</keyword> station that when Scott came on the stage for his set, the concertgoers started to push. <a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-astroworld-at-least-8-dead-hundreds-injured-as-crowd-surged-2021-11">Authorities said</a> that the massive crowd of roughly 50,000 people began to compress toward the stage shortly after 9:30 p.m. <a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-astroworld-pleas-to-stop-festival-ignored-eyewitnesses-2021-11">Witnesses told Insider</a> they struggled to breathe during the event. "My son had Ezra on his shoulders at the concert, and my son couldn't breathe because of all the pressure that was being applied to him, and he passed out," the child's grandfather previously told <a href="https://abc13.com/9-year-old-boy-young-astroworld-victim-ezra-blount-2021/11213351/">KTRK-TV</a>. "And when he passed out, Ezra fell into the crowd. He was trampled really bad."When Blount woke up at the festival, his son had already been transported to the hospital, KTRK-TV reported, adding that he was informed that his son was suffering severe damage to major organs when he arrived."I could tell that he was damaged," Blount told the outlet. "I'm not ready to lose my boy at all. We still got a bunch of living to do... that's my boy."A <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/recovery-of-ezra-astrosfest?member=15140253&amp;sharetype=teams&amp;utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&amp;utm_medium=copy_link&amp;utm_source=customer_source=customer">GoFundMe</a> created by Blount has raised over $60,000 at the time of publication. National civil rights attorney Ben Crump is representing the family and is <a href="https://www.insider.com/ben-crump-file-lawsuits-over-100-astroworld-victims-2021-11">filing lawsuits on behalf of more than 100 Astroworld victims</a>.

The father of a 9-year-old on life support following Astroworld Festival says 'I'm not ready to lose my boy'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The family of 9-year-old <keyword id="12479178" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="astroworld" source="Orion">Astroworld</keyword> victim Ezra Blount declined <keyword id="11910746" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="travis-scott" source="Orion">Travis Scott</keyword>'s offer to pay for their son's funeral. </li><li>Scott had previously offered to pay the funeral costs for each of the people who died at the show. </li></ul>The family of the youngest victim of the Astroworld Festival tragedy rejected Travis Scott's offer to pay for the boy's funeral, according to letters obtained by Insider.Ezra Blount, 9, became trapped in the crowd surge at Houston's Astroworld Festival earlier this month and later died after spending days in a medically induced coma.Scott had previously <a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-pay-funeral-costs-astroworld-victims-2021-11">offered to pay for funeral costs</a> for all 10 people who died at his show in November."Travis is devastated by the tragedy that occurred at the Astroworld Festival and grieves for the families whose loved ones died or were injured," Scott's lawyer Daniel Petrocelli wrote to the Blount family."Travis is committed to doing his part to help the families who have suffered and begin the long process of healing in the Houston community. Toward that end, Travis would like to pay for the funeral expenses for Mr. Blount's son," Petrocelli said.In response, the Blount family reportedly rejected the offer. "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," Blount family lawyer Bob Hilliard said. Scott's legal team also reached out to Hilliard and the Blount family requesting an in-person meeting, <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/travis-scott-astroworld-victim-ezra-blount-funeral-1264337/">Rolling Stone reported</a>. That offer was also declined by the family. "With all due respect, no. This isn't a photo-op story here. This is a 'who's responsible and why' type of investigation. And he's on the shortlist," Hilliard reportedly wrote back to Scott.Blount's father, Treston Blount, has <a href="https://www.insider.com/father-of-boy-coma-after-astroworld-trampling-sues-travis-scott-2021-11">filed a $1 million lawsuit</a> against Scott and the event's organizers.

Family of 9-year-old Astroworld victim rejects Travis Scott's offer to pay for his funeral

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The family of the youngest <keyword id="12479178" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="astroworld" source="Orion">Astroworld</keyword> victim criticized <keyword id="12474851" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ye" source="Orion">Ye</keyword>'s recent Instagram post.</li><li>In the post, Ye demanded an apology from <keyword id="12016075" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="billie-eilish" source="Orion">Billie Eilish</keyword> for dissing <keyword id="11910746" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="travis-scott" source="Orion">Travis Scott</keyword>, which she denied.</li></ul>The grandparents of <a href="https://www.insider.com/9-year-old-boy-dies-travis-scott-astroworld-ezra-blount-2021-11">Astroworld's youngest victim</a> told Rolling Stone that Ye (formerly known as <keyword id="11944249" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="kanye-west" source="Orion">Kanye West</keyword>) was "ridiculous" for demanding that Billie Eilish apologize to Travis Scott.Earlier this week, Eilish stopped a show on her "Happier Than Ever" tour in Atlanta after <a href="https://www.insider.com/billie-eilish-stopped-concert-help-fan-inhaler-2022-2">seeing a fan in distress</a>. In a video published by <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2022/02/06/billie-eilish-stops-concert-give-fan-inhaler-travis-scott-astroworld/">TMZ</a>, Eilish can be heard telling the audience, "I wait for people to be OK until I keep going," which <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2022/02/06/billie-eilish-stops-concert-give-fan-inhaler-travis-scott-astroworld/">various media outlets</a> took to be a pointed remark towards Scott's Astroworld Festival performance last year where a crowd surge during the event <a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-astroworld-at-least-8-dead-hundreds-injured-as-crowd-surged-2021-11">killed 10 and injured hundreds</a>.Following this, Ye posted a screenshot of an Instagram post that claimed Eilish was dissing the rapper and in the caption <a href="https://www.insider.com/Kanye-West-wont-perform-coachella-billie-eilish-apology-travis-scott-2022-2">demanded the "Bad Guy" singer apologize to Scott or he wouldn't perform at Coachella.</a><blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CZz61suuTn_" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank"></a> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by ye (@kanyewest)<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime=""></time></div></blockquote>The grandparents of nine-year-old Ezra Blount, who lost his life after sustaining injuries during the Astroworld tragedy last year, told <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/astroworld-relatives-respond-kanye-west-billie-eilish-coachella-1298585/">Rolling Stone</a> that Ye should be praising Eilish not criticizing her."To hear Kanye's words, that's hurtful to us. What an idiotic thing to say," Ezra's grandfather Bernon Blount said. "That's crazy that he wants someone to apologize for putting the welfare of someone else before their profits. That's someone who needed their asthma pump. They could have lost their life, right then. This world is twisted, and we have to stop doing this."Tericia Blount said of Ye's comments: "I think it's just crazy, and I hate to use that word, but I think it's ridiculous. She's making sure that she is caring for the patrons at her concert, and I just think that's crazy of Kanye to even let that demand come out of his mouth."She added: "I totally commend Billie Eilish for having that decency about her. I think what she did was wonderful, and I would love to tell her myself how brilliant and awesome she is for doing so."Less than two hours after Ye's post, Eilish commented: "Literally never said a thing about Travis. Was just helping a fan."<div type="image" title="Travis Scott performs during 2021 Astroworld Festival at NRG Park in Houston, Texas." height="2779" width="3705" msid="89504045" hostid="261"></div>Scott received criticism last year for continuing his performance at the Astroworld festival, in Houston Texas <a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-astroworld-pleas-to-stop-festival-ignored-eyewitnesses-2021-11">after multiple fans had pleaded to stop the concert, according to eyewitnesses</a> and <a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-playing-after-police-astroworld-mass-casualty-event-report-2021-11">videos that were taken at the event.</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-wasnt-told-astroworld-mass-casualty-during-performance-lawyer-2021-11">Scott's lawyer has said</a> that Scott was unaware that the concert had been declared a "mass casualty" event until after his performance. The rapper has since given <a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-refunding-tickets-astroworld-mass-casualty-2021-11">refunds to everyone who bought tickets to the Astroworld concert</a> on November 5, and <a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-pay-funeral-costs-astroworld-victims-2021-11">offered to pay the funeral costs for the families of the people who died at the event.</a> The family of Ezra Blount <a href="https://www.insider.com/astroworld-victims-family-rejects-travis-scotts-offer-cover-funeral-costs-2021-11">rejected Scott's offer and have filed a lawsuit</a> against Scott and the Astroworld organizers.

Astroworld victim's family says Kanye West is 'ridiculous' for asking Billie Eilish to apologize to Travis Scott

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The father of the boy left in a coma from the <keyword id="12479178" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="astroworld" source="Orion">Astroworld</keyword> tragedy has filed suit against <keyword id="11910746" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="travis-scott" source="Orion">Travis Scott</keyword> and organizers.</li><li>Ezra Blount was "catastrophically injured" when a crowd surged during Scott's Friday set in <keyword id="11922277" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="houston" source="Orion">Houston</keyword>, lawyers said. </li></ul>The father of the 9-year-old boy who was left in a coma after he fell off his dad's shoulders and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/astroworld-nine-year-old-boy-fell-off-dad-shoulders-trampled-2021-11?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">was trampled at Travis Scott's doomed Astroworld music festival</a> has filed a $1 million lawsuit against the rapper and concert organizers.Ezra Blount was "catastrophically injured" when a <a href="https://www.insider.com/watch-videos-show-chaos-at-travis-scotts-astroworld-houston-concert-2021-11">packed crowd surged toward the stage</a> during Scott's Friday night set at NRG Park in Houston, lawyers for Blout's dad said on Tuesday.The boy remains hospitalized in a medically-induced coma on life-support "in an attempt to combat his brain, liver, and kidney trauma," according to the lawyers. Eight <a href="https://www.insider.com/astroworld-victims-list-of-dead-includers-9th-grader-college-friends-2021-11">people were killed</a> in the incident and hundreds more were injured. The lawsuit - filed Tuesday in Harris County, TX by prominent civil-rights lawyer Ben Crump and attorneys Alex and Bob Hilliard on behalf of Blount's dad, Treston - "alleges negligence in a great number of aspects, including crowd control, failure to provide proper medical attention, hiring, training, supervision, and retention," the attorneys said. Scott, Live Nation Entertainment, and Texas festival production company Scoremore are among the defendants named in the lawsuit. The suit says that the 9-year-old boy "was suddenly forced to watch in terror as several concertgoers were injured and killed as a result of a crowd surge."Ezra Blount "was kicked, stepped on, and trampled, and nearly crushed to death," the lawsuit states. The suit also alleges that the defendants failed to stop Scott's performance "<a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-playing-after-police-astroworld-mass-casualty-event-report-2021-11">until over 40 minutes"</a> after authorities declared a "mass casualty" event at the concert. "This young child and his family will face life-altering trauma from this day forward, a reality that nobody expects when they buy concert tickets," Crump said in the statement. "Concerts and music festivals such as this are meant to be a safe place for people of all ages to enjoy music in a controlled environment," Crump added. "None of that was true about the Astroworld Festival."Ezra Blount is "currently fighting for his life, and his parents will never know the same child they entered Astroworld with," Crump said. Alex Hilliard added: "We plan to hold everyone who had a hand in this festival accountable for the horrifying and traumatic injuries that this helpless child sustained."Scott, along with concert organizers, are already facing a growing number of <keyword id="11918277" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="lawsuits" source="Orion">lawsuits</keyword> by victims of the tragedy and their family members. Authorities are still investigating the incident.In a statement to Insider Tuesday, Live Nation said: "We continue to support and assist local authorities in their ongoing investigation so that both the fans who attended and their families can get the answers they want and deserve, and we will address all legal matters at the appropriate time."Reps for Scott and Scoremore did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Father of 9-year-old on life support after Astroworld trampling sues Travis Scott, event organizers

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Eight people <a href="https://www.insider.com/astroworld-victims-list-of-dead-includers-9th-grader-college-friends-2021-11">died during a crowd surge</a> at <keyword id="11910746" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="travis-scott" source="Orion">Travis Scott</keyword>'s <keyword id="12479178" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="astroworld" source="Orion">Astroworld</keyword> festival in <keyword id="11922277" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="houston" source="Orion">Houston</keyword> on Friday.</li><li>Concertgoers may lose their moral compass in large crowds, a sociologist told Insider.</li></ul>A violent swell of fans <a href="https://www.insider.com/astroworld-victims-list-of-dead-includers-9th-grader-college-friends-2021-11">killed eight people</a> at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival in Texas on Friday night. <keyword id="11995358" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="crowd" source="Orion">Crowd</keyword> surges at concerts are rarely deadly - but there's a reason why they form, psychologists say.A concert's energy can heighten people's emotions, causing to them to ignore their surroundings or safety risks. Larger crowds in particular may encourage people to "follow the herd" and rush the stage if people around them are doing so - even if they know that behavior is inadvisable. But there was likely an additional factor at play during Friday's concert in Houston, according to Alexis Piquero, chair of the sociology department at the University of Miami: pent-up stress and anxiety from nearly two years of social isolation."In theory, we're getting out of this pandemic and people just need to let loose," Piquero told Insider.In he future, he added, concert planners may need to account for this bottled-up energy when deciding how many people to admit, how much security to hire, and how to control the crowd."How do you do it in a way where you allow people to have a great time, to yell and scream at the top of their lungs to let loose, but do it in a safe way?" Piquero said, adding, "Let's use Houston, Astroworld, as an example of what didn't go right."<h2>Concertgoers may lose their moral compass or sense of danger in large crowds</h2><div type="image" title="Travis Scott Astroworld" height="2673" width="4009" msid="87616394" hostid="261"></div>An estimated 50,000 people attended Astroworld. Around the time Travis Scott took the stage, concertgoers began to push against one another to reach the front, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña said in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=293461855969202">a news conference</a> just after the event.Some people were either knocked down or lost consciousness after not having enough room to breathe. The force of the crowd eventually trampled some fans on the ground. Eight people, all of them younger than 30, died. Two were teenagers.Among the dozens of injured concertgoers, a 9-year-old boy, Ezra Blount, remains in critical condition. Blount's father, Treston, had been carrying his son on his shoulders when the crowd surged. "He kept screaming, 'I can't breathe,'" Ezra's grandmother, Tericia, <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ezra-blount-astroworld-travis-scott-1255121/">told Rolling Stone</a>. "But everyone was pushing. It was so tight with no exits. His dad couldn't breathe at all and passed out. We don't really know what happened to Ezra after that."Ezra's family later identified him at a nearby hospital, <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ezra-blount-astroworld-travis-scott-1255121/">Rolling Stone reported</a>.Piquero said it's common for concertgoers to feel anonymous in large crowds, and therefore devoid of personal responsibility - a concept known as "deindividuation.""There is an absolute direct link in <a href="https://www.baylor.edu/pulse/doc.php/77099.pdf">the literature</a> that crowd size leads to more feelings of - not necessarily impunity or invincibility - but you let your moral compass turn away for a second," he said.So concertgoers mimic one another's behavior, even if that behavior is dangerous."When people are part of the collective, they're like, 'Well, if that person is doing it, I guess it's OK. And if I don't rush to the front, then someone else is going to have a better view, especially if I'm a short person,'" Piquero said.Those factors combined, he added, can cause people to abandon their sense of risk in favor of the reward: in this case, getting closer to the stage.<h2>Fans may have been eager to let loose because of the pandemic </h2><div type="image" title="astroworld travis scott victims" height="1000" width="1500" msid="87616395" hostid="261"></div>Piquero said there's usually a perfect storm of issues that leads to a concert <keyword id="12500544" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="mob" source="Orion">mob</keyword>. In 2000, for instance, nine people died in a crowd surge during a Pearl Jam performance in Denmark. Heavy rain that day may have made the ground slippery, and potentially caused some fans to fall, <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/nine-dead-at-pearl-jam-concert-235167/">Rolling Stone reported</a> at the time. Sound issues with the venue's rear speakers may have also prompted concertgoers to push toward the stage.In the case of Astroworld, Piquero said, post-lockdown anxiety and stress likely played a role."When you go to a concert, it's like going to a sporting event - you're going to forget about your boss, you're going to forget about your deadline," he said. "We're just going to go to escape from our world's problems, especially now as we're trying to come out of this 20-month crazy [period] that we've all been living in." Fans may have felt pressure to let loose or reclaim a lost sense of freedom, he added."Here you have this one thing that everybody was looking forward to," Piquero said. "People are flying from all over the country, driving from all over. This guy's concerts are electric. He blends all kinds of music. He's a superstar. And everybody's looking forward to this beautiful night in Houston and then - a tragic event."

Pandemic-linked stress may have fueled the deadly crowd surge at Astroworld, a sociologist says

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A woman who lost her pregnancy during the <keyword id="12479178" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="astroworld" source="Orion">Astroworld</keyword> concert is suing <keyword id="11910746" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="travis-scott" source="Orion">Travis Scott</keyword>.</li><li>Lawyers representing victims have bumped their death toll from 10 to 11 to account for the unborn child.</li></ul>A woman who lost her pregnancy due to injuries sustained during the deadly Astroworld crowd surge last year has filed a wrongful death suit against rapper Travis Scott, Live Nation, and several other defendants, according to court documents reviewed by Insider. Attorneys representing the victims have since increased the tragedy's death toll <a href="https://www.insider.com/astroworld-victims-died-of-compression-asphyxia-medical-examiner-2021-12">from 10</a> to 11, counting the unborn child as an additional casualty, court records filed in Harris County, Texas this week revealed. Shanazia Williamson and Jarawd Owens filed the lawsuit in December, amending a November complaint filed by Williamson that did not initially include mention of the pregnancy loss. Both filings seek monetary relief "in excess of" $1 million."While in attendance at the festival, Shanazia was trampled and crushed resulting in horrific injuries and ultimately the death of her and Jarawd's unborn child," the December filing says. "In addition, Shanazia sustained injuries to her shoulder, back, chest, leg, stomach, and other parts of her body." <keyword id="11893589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news" source="Orion">News</keyword> of the wrongful death suit, which was first reported by <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/astroworld-pregnancy-wrongful-death-lawsuit-1265989/">Rolling Stone</a> and <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/astroworld-fest-tragedy/article/Lawyers-include-unborn-child-in-list-of-17169109.php">The Houston Chronicle</a>, comes three days after lawyers submitted a bombshell filing in the case. Attorneys said they conducted a survey of thousands of people involved in the incident and found 4,900 claims for deaths and injuries at the concert, according to several media outlets. More than 700 people reported injuries that required "extensive" medical treatment, while 1,649 attendees said they sustained injuries that required less extensive treatment. Another 2,540 claims' severity are stil being reviewed, <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/astroworld-festival-disaster-injuries-1350785/">Rolling Stone</a> reported. Those numbers are substantially higher than previous injury estimates from the festival. The fatal crowd surge resulted in the <a href="https://www.insider.com/astroworld-victims-list-of-dead-includers-9th-grader-college-friends-2021-11">deaths</a> of: Ezra Blount, 9; John Hilgert 14; Brianna Rodriguez, 16; Jacob Jurinek, 20; Franco Patino, 21; Axel Acosta, 21; Bharti Shahani, 22; Madison Dubiski, 23; Rodolfo Pena; 23, and Mirza Baig, 27.A spokesperson for the Harris County medical examiner's office told The Chronicle that their death count remains at 10, but noted that unborn children would not typically be included in reviews.Plaintiffs attorneys Jason Atkin, Richard Mithoff, and Sean Roberts did not immediately return Insider's request for comment or declined to comment. A gag order on the case forbids lawyers from publicly commenting on hundreds of pending lawsuits.Representatives for Scott and Live Nation did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment regarding Williamson and Owen's wrongful death suit. Scott has denied responsibility for the tragedy. Earlier this month, <a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-performs-first-time-since-astroworld-tragedy-2022-5">the rapper returned to the stage for his first live public performance</a> since Astroworld.

A woman who lost her pregnancy during the Astroworld crowd surge has filed a wrongful death suit against Travis Scott and Live Nation

<ul class="summary-list"><li>At least 7 of the 10 dead <keyword id="12479178" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="astroworld" source="Orion">Astroworld</keyword> attendees were standing in the same area, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2021/what-happened-astroworld-travis-scott/?utm_campaign=wp_main&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter">The Washington Post.</a></li><li>An investigation by the outlet found the section in the south quadrant was enclosed on three sides.</li></ul>At least seven of the 10 concertgoers who died in a <a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-astroworld-at-least-8-dead-hundreds-injured-as-crowd-surged-2021-11">crushing crowd surge at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival </a>earlier this month were standing in a the same small area, according to an investigation by <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2021/what-happened-astroworld-travis-scott/?utm_campaign=wp_main&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter">The Washington Post. </a>The outlet reviewed multiple videos from the scene and spoke with witnesses and crowd experts to pinpoint where several of the victims were standing when chaos erupted during Scott's performance in Houston. Ten people died at the November 5 concert and dozens more were injured. A criminal investigation into the incident is ongoing and the victims' causes of death have not yet been released.The Post's investigation revealed at least seven of the victims were standing in the same section, which was enclosed on three sides by metal barriers. The section became dangerously crowded as Scott took the stage, turning the pocket into a crisis center.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1463540451332476934?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2021</a></blockquote>The section was a viewing area in the venue's south quadrant, The Post found, where several witnesses said people began collapsing as pressure surged in the crowd. Three of the concertgoers who died reportedly appear unconscious in a witness video obtained by the outlet, as a pile of other fans had fallen down in the south quadrant. The video was taken only 16 minutes into the show, which continued for nearly another hour, the newspaper reported. By just three minutes into Scott's set, parts of the compressed section had only 1.85 square feet per person, a Carnegie Mellon University analysis for The Post found, which would have posed an immediate risk of the crowd collapsing in on itself.Concertgoers began crowding around the main stage hours before the rapper was set to begin performing, The Post found, and when a separate performance ended at a nearby stage, an influx of people coming to the main stage increased pressure in the enclosed south quadrant area. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1463543057605922817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2021</a></blockquote>Crowd experts told the newspaper that the metal barricades surrounding the quadrant allowed for little movement within the area and played a role in the density problems as people already positioned in the area lost the ability to exit.According to the Post's review, people started screaming just five minutes into the show as attendees began fighting for space. It took only 16 minutes into Scott's performance before someone collapsed in the crowd, but the festival was not declared a mass casualty event until nearly 50 minutes into the show. The entire performance <a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-should-have-ended-astroworld-concert-fire-chief-2021-11">lasted a total of 72 minutes</a>, the newspaper said. Representatives for Scott did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Neither Live Nation, the company behind the festival, nor Scoremore, the event organizer, responded to Insider's request for comment either. The seven victims who The Post confirmed died in the south quadrant were Madison Dubiski, Axel Acosta, <a href="https://www.insider.com/9-year-old-boy-dies-travis-scott-astroworld-ezra-blount-2021-11">Ezra Blount</a>, Jacob Jurinek, Franco Patino, Danish Baig, and Rodolfo Angel Peña.In a video following the concert, Scott said he stopped the show as soon as he noticed something was going wrong.

At least 7 of the 10 Astroworld concertgoers who died were standing in the same small section, according to a Washington Post investigation

Welcome back to <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/10-things-in-politics">10 Things in Politics</a>. <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/10-things-in-politics">Sign up here to receive this newsletter</a>. Plus, download Insider's app for news on the go - click <a href="https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id554260576">here for iOS</a> and <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.freerange360.mpp.businessinsider">here for Android</a>. Send tips to <a href="mailto:bgriffiths@insider.com">bgriffiths@insider.com</a>.Here's what we're talking about:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fauci-guidance-trick-or-treat-celebrate-halloween-covid-coronavirus-mask-2021-10"></a><ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/buttigieg-infrastructure-bill-transportation-secretary-2021-11">Pete Buttigieg is about to become the most powerful transportation secretary ever</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-to-sell-washington-dc-hotel-for-375-million-report-2021-11">Trump is selling his Washington, DC, hotel</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/basecamp-strategy-when-democrats-turn-out-pac-money-politics-2021-11">A Democratic operative started a group to raise money for candidates. His firm bagged most of the cash raised.</a></li></ul><hr />1. DOWN THE ROAD: Pete Buttigieg is facing a historic transportation moment. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan into law today, which is set to give Buttigieg effective control over more than $200 billion in discretionary grants over five years. One expert said that's about five to six times as much money as any previous transportation secretary has had to work with.Here's what this will mean:This is Buttigieg's most significant accomplishment thus far: Biden tapped him to help lead negotiations on Capitol Hill. During this push, Buttigieg held 300 calls and meetings with lawmakers all the way up to the final hours of the legislation's passage, logged more than 125 local news hits, and conducted more than 300 press interviews selling the road-and-jobs package.<ul><li>And now he has a massive pile of cash to help distribute: Despite Republican efforts to limit the size and scope of what's in the legislation, the Department of Transportation will be tasked with doling out approximately $210 billion over five years in discretionary grants.</li></ul>DOT is expected to change drastically too: The department's annual budget under Buttigieg is set to increase to $140 billion from $90 billion, and department officials acknowledge they'll have to staff up to match the moment.<ul><li>Another former mayor is competing for the spotlight: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/14/us/politics/biden-mitch-landrieu-infrastructure.html">Biden tapped former Mayor Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans</a> to serve as a senior advisor and oversee the infrastructure law's implementation.</li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/buttigieg-infrastructure-bill-transportation-secretary-2021-11">Read more about what this moment means for Pete Buttigieg.</a><hr />2. There are low expectations for tonight's virtual China summit: Both sides have sought to downplay what will come out of Biden's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later tonight, Politico reports. Their meeting comes at a critical juncture for US-China relations as tension over Taiwan, questions about the coronavirus pandemic's origin, and the legacy of Trump-era tariffs are coming to a head. <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/11/14/biden-xi-meeting-expectations-522136">Here's what experts expect to come out of the talks</a>.<hr />3. A Democratic operative started a group to raise money for candidates. Then his firm bagged most of the cash raised: Mike Reid, a digital operative who worked on campaigns for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and the activist Sean Eldridge, also started When Democrats Turn Out PAC. Would-be donors clicking on one of the group's ads might have thought their money was going straight to their favorite candidate(s). But of the over $2.5 million that When Democrats Turn Out has spent since it was founded in 2018, most has gone to Basecamp Strategy, a digital firm that was also founded by Reid. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/basecamp-strategy-when-democrats-turn-out-pac-money-politics-2021-11">Arrangements like this make it harder for donors to see where their money is going</a>.<hr />4. White House seems confident House Democrats will pass Biden's spending plan this week: Brian Deese, Biden's top economic advisor, told the Associated Press that Democrats would quickly pass Biden's nearly $1.85 trillion spending plan later this week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told her colleagues on Friday that she still planned on moving the spending package soon. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-business-congress-joe-manchin-economy-3aeeace6ed971200e69dfce66781cf94">Here's where things stand</a>.<hr />5. Trump is selling his Washington, DC, hotel: His real-estate company is selling the rights to its luxury hotel in Washington, DC, for $375 million, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing unnamed sources. The lease for the Trump International Hotel is reportedly being acquired by CGI Merchant Group, an investment firm based in Miami. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-to-sell-washington-dc-hotel-for-375-million-report-2021-11">Trump's name is said to be coming off of the hotel</a>.<hr />6. World climate summit deal yields mixed reviews: "<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/11/14/climate-deal-reaction-cop26-world/">Many world leaders and activists expressed disappointment</a> this weekend with the climate deal that emerged from two weeks of heated negotiations in Glasgow, Scotland," The Washington Post reports. The final agreement lacks the complete funding needed for developing countries to mitigate extreme weather events and to build clean energy infrastructure, The New York Times reports. Officials also watered down a pledge to "phase out" unabated coal. Instead, nations agreed to "phase down" their use. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cop26-concludes-with-agreement-to-phase-down-coal-2021-11">Here are the key details from the COP26 agreement</a>.<hr />7. Closing arguments are expected in Kyle Rittenhouse's trial: Judge Bruce Schroeder will allow jurors to consider some lesser charges in addition to the current counts Rittenhouse is facing, which include first-degree intentional homicide, USA Today reports. Rittenhouse is standing trial for fatally shooting two men during August 25, 2020, protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, that erupted in the aftermath of the police shooting of Jacob Blake. <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/11/12/kyle-rittenhouse-judge-jury-lesser-charges/8587085002/">More on what to expect today in the closely watched trial</a>.<hr />8. A 9-year-old boy has died after being trampled at Travis Scott's Astroworld: Ezra Blount is the youngest of 10 victims who lost their lives in a crowd crush at the November 5 concert. Those who died were ages 9 to 27 and also included a ninth grader and a 16-year-old dancer. <a href="https://www.insider.com/9-year-old-boy-dies-travis-scott-astroworld-ezra-blount-2021-11">Hundreds of other concertgoers were injured</a>.<hr />9. Elon Musk starts a Twitter fight with Sen. Bernie Sanders: Musk, the world's richest person, continued his trend of attacking liberal lawmakers by replying "I keep forgetting that you're still alive" to a tweet from Sanders calling for "the extremely wealthy to pay their fair share." <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-bernie-sanders-twitter-extreme-wealth-2021-11">More on Musk's recent moves, including cashing in nearly $7 billion in Tesla stock</a>.<hr /><div type="image" title="Ernie and Ji-Young." height="1667" width="2500" msid="87717163" hostid="261"></div>10. "Sesame Street" is set to have its first Asian American muppet: Ji-Young is Korean American, 7 years old, and loves "rocking out on her electric guitar and skateboarding," the Associated Press reports. Ji-Young is set to be formally introduced during a special arriving Thanksgiving Day on HBO Max. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-lifestyle-osaka-racial-injustice-race-and-ethnicity-390bd29ba9d986524b242e9fa69695be">Read more about the newest Sesame Street resident</a>.<hr />Today's trivia question: Who most recently went directly from being a US president's Cabinet member to becoming president himself? Email your answer and a suggested question to me at <a href="mailto:bgriffiths@insider.com">bgriffiths@insider.com</a>.<ul><li>Friday's answer: President Theodore Roosevelt <a href="https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Research/Digital-Library/Record?libID=o274196">was originally</a> set to have a memorial where the modern-day Jefferson Memorial now stands.</li></ul>

10 Things in Politics: Buttigieg's legacy moment

<keyword id="11910746" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="travis-scott" source="Orion">Travis Scott</keyword> performed for more than 30 minutes after authorities declared a mass-casualty event. A concertgoer who was crushed in the crowd wonders why he didn't shut it down.There was hardly anyone standing by the stage when Cynthia Lira arrived Friday at the NRG Stadium in Houston. She wanted to stake out a prime position to watch Travis Scott's headlining set at the <keyword id="12479178" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="astroworld" source="Orion">Astroworld</keyword> festival, so she showed up three hours early. Scott's die-hard fans were sitting in the grass, biding their time. As the show neared, Lira remembers, the area filled up with concertgoers until it was no longer possible to sit. Lira says "a big wave of people" started pushing forward about 30 minutes before Scott took the stage. Fans pressed in from all sides, and Lira says she could barely find space on the ground to plant both feet.Lira decided she had enough about a minute before the rapper started performing. "I'm going to pass out if I stay here," she told a friend. Just as the two turned to leave, Scott began playing the song "Escape Plan," and they were pushed back by another wave of people pressing towards the stage. Lira says she became desperate. "Our chests were cramped up, you could not breathe at all," she says. "We tried to move, we were like, 'Please, we're trying to leave.' This other girl was screaming and crying."Lira and her friend moved back a few rows from the stage before Scott started hyping up their section of the crowd. "In my mind, I was just like, 'Are you kidding me?' People are going to trample ... they're going to fall over each other." She describes a "sinkhole of people" opening up around her as bodies fell to the ground and started piling on top of each other. "I was trying to get up as fast as I could, but people were landing on top of my legs and I couldn't move," she says. Lira screamed, but the music was too loud for anyone to hear her. At one point, she heard Scott start in on the song "Stargazing," which includes the lyrics: "And it ain't no mosh pit if it ain't no injuries, I got 'em stage divin' out the nosebleeds." "I was like, 'I'm going to die because this man is not stopping the concert,'" Lira recalls. Knowing the song would trigger jumping and moshing in the crowd, she resigned herself to being crushed to death. She lost sight of the lasers, strobe lights, and pyrotechnics that made up Scott's performance as other people fell on top of her. "There was no light left of the concert at all," Lira says. "It was complete darkness. I was holding another person's hand and I was just accepting that I was going to die." Then she passed out.The account Lira shared with Insider reflects <a href="https://www.insider.com/astroworld-attendee-chaotic-scene-travis-scott-8-dead-2021-11">what</a> <a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-astroworld-pleas-to-stop-festival-ignored-eyewitnesses-2021-11">many</a> <a href="https://www.insider.com/astroworld-attendee-concert-became-a-fight-for-survival-2021-11">Astroworld</a> attendees said they experienced on November 5, when a crowd of more than 50,000 surged toward the stage. On Wednesday, the death count rose to nine, after 22-year-old Texas A&amp;M student <a href="https://www.insider.com/astroworld-22-year-old-bharti-shahani-dies-raising-death-toll-to-9-2021-11">Bharti Shahani</a> succumbed to her injuries. Those who died ranged in age from 14 to 27; no official cause of death has been released for any of the victims.But survivors who described over-crowded conditions said they saw people in the crowd fall like dominoes, becoming trapped under a pile of bodies. Concertgoers have also complained that event staff, including a <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/11/10/video-travis-scott-fan-begged-cameraman-to-stop-deadly-show/">cameraman</a> who appeared to ignore a couple who scaled his platform to tell him people in the crowd were dying, didn't listen to their pleas for help. Even after police declared a mass-casualty event at the site, Scott continued to perform for <a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-playing-after-police-astroworld-mass-casualty-event-report-2021-11">more than 30 minutes</a>.<div type="image" title="Travis Scott performed at Astroworld Festival on November 5, 2021." height="2579" width="3872" msid="87686341" hostid="261"></div>There are still a lot of unknowns: While Houston Police Chief Troy Finner has said that the concert's producers were asked to stop Scott's performance, he refused to say when that occurred, or how event organizers responded (Astroworld promoter Live Nation and Texas concert company ScoreMore did not respond to Insider's requests for comment on this story). The Houston Police Department's homicide division is leading an investigation into who, if anyone, is to blame for the tragedy. That investigation could take weeks to months, Finner has said. <h2>The deadly chaos at Astroworld followed rowdiness at several previous Travis Scott shows </h2>Friday wasn't Lira's first rodeo. She attended the 2019 Astroworld festival in Houston, and recalls crowding issues then as well, if on a lesser scale. "There was a lack of oxygen sometimes," she says. That year, <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-astroworld-2019-three-people-trampled-20211106-ulo2z6uderci5edpsqbz7s37e4-story.html">three people</a> were injured in a stampede to get into the festival.Local officials appeared to have concerns leading up to the 2021 event that concertgoers would be hard to control. Finner said that he <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.insider.com/police-met-travis-scott-astroworld-crowd-worries-before-deaths-nyt-2021-11&amp;sa=D&amp;source=docs&amp;ust=1636735434690000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2L1LEenWCGrY9sHurB9fNQnWCGrY9sHurB9fNQ">met with Scott</a>, whose real name is Jacques Webster II, and the rapper's head of security beforehand to express "concerns regarding public safety." Finner also revealed that police presence at the event had more than tripled since the first year Astroworld was held, in 2018. During the inaugural festival, 170 Houston police officers were working the event, compared to 530 who were on duty Friday. Despite the increased security, fans again stormed the gates of the festival as it opened last week. Finner said this first crowd rush may have been due to people unable to afford or otherwise secure a ticket, or wanting to beat others to the merchandise stands.Scott has a well-documented history of encouraging such rowdy behavior at his events. Once tickets for this year's festival sold out in May, Scott wrote in an <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/COf4Sqfjogg/?hl=en">Instagram post</a> that he was "putting a plan together" to "get some more of the wild ones in" to the event, "even if I gotta sneak them in." At a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjaW3FQ0hE0">2017 concert</a> in New York City, video showed Scott egging on a fan to jump from a second floor balcony into the mosh pit. Twenty-seven-year-old <a href="https://www.insider.com/man-paralyzed-2017-travis-scott-gig-devastated-for-astroworld-victims-2021-11">Kyle Green</a> alleges he was left partially paralyzed from a fall at the same show, and is currently suing Scott in Manhattan Supreme Court, according to court records seen by Insider. In court filings, Scott's attorney has denied Green's allegations.<div type="image" title="Houston Police Chief Troy Finner" height="1333" width="2000" msid="87686343" hostid="261"></div>The rapper's antics have twice resulted in criminal charges. Scott's 2015 performance at the <a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-astroworld-fiasco-follows-criminal-charges-previous-concerts-2021-11">Lollapalooza</a> music festival in Chicago, where he encouraged fans to vault over security barricades, was stopped after just five minutes. Though no one was injured, Scott was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was sentenced to <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/travis-scotts-2015-lollapalooza-charges-show-history-of-concert-chaos/2676687/&amp;sa=D&amp;source=docs&amp;ust=1636735537530000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0NW3I2yzXOSIOcQwlRU-zOyzXOSIOcQwlRU-zO">a year of court supervision</a>. Scott was arrested again two years later, after encouraging crowds to bypass security and rush the stage at a concert in northwest Arkansas. In that instance, several people were injured. Scott pleaded guilty to <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8098554/travis-scott-pleads-guilty-disorderly-conduct-riot-arkansas&amp;sa=D&amp;source=docs&amp;ust=1636735550802000&amp;usg=AOvVaw13OZxTmc7DP1JaHFwsb795mc7DP1JaHFwsb795">misdemeanor disorderly conduct</a> and was ordered to pay a nearly $8,000 fine.<h2>Scott appeared to mention people struggling in the crowd several times during his set</h2>Travis Scott first appeared to acknowledge that concertgoers were in distress 24 minutes into his set. The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjD2tDEqWTk">livestream</a> of his performance shows Scott spoke to a person working in the pit below the stage and asked them to help usher someone out of the crowd. Five minutes later, shortly after yelling to the crowd, "I wanna see some ragers, man. Who wanna rage man?", Scott pointed out an emergency vehicle driving into the crowd. "There's an ambulance in the crowd, woah, woah, woah," he said. "What the fuck is that?"Scott looked around and appeared confused before asking everyone in the crowd to put up their middle fingers if "everybody good." He then paused for a minute before launching into another song, saying, "Ya'll know what ya'll came to do." As two people on stage dove into the mosh pit, he said, "I want to make this motherfucking ground shake god damnit."About eight minutes later, at 9:38 p.m, Houston Police declare a mass-casualty event at the concert, according to a timeline from <a href="https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/how-did-the-astroworld-travis-scott-tragedy-happen-heres-a-timeline-before-during-and-after/287-3beb1e52-1328-444c-aa84-8d737c015179">WFAA</a>.About 10 minutes after the ambulance drove into the crowd, a disturbance in the mosh pit to the left of the stage appeared to catch Scott's eye and he called for the music to be turned down. "We need somebody, help him, somebody passed out right here. ... Hold on, don't touch him, don't touch him, everybody just back up," Scott ordered. "Security somebody help, jump in real quick, keep going. Somebody jump in, come on, come on, let's get in there." The rapper then launched into another song. A <a href="https://twitter.com/ChaudharyParvez/status/1456986475929608201">brief clip</a> taken from the mosh pit shows a limp body being removed from the crowd, while Scott stares and sings in the background.Finner has said that Houston police told the event's producers to stop the show when at least one person in the crowd was receiving CPR. But he wouldn't give details on what time that request was made, nor would he say if the producers ignored the request. The decision to end a show early is made jointly between law enforcement and producers, Finner pointed out. He previously told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/astroworld-festival-what-to-know.html">The New York Times</a> that you "can't just close" a festival of 50,000 people. "We have to worry about rioting, riots, when you have a group that's that young," he told the newspaper. (When reached for comment on this story, a Houston Police Department spokesperson referred Insider back to Finner's press conferences.)The performance went on for about 30 more minutes after Scott noticed the passed-out concertgoer. Drake joined him for a few songs near the end of the set. As Scott played his closing song, "Goosebumps," fireworks lit up the sky behind the stage.<div type="image" title="Astroworld cancelled sign" height="1333" width="2000" msid="87686345" hostid="261"></div>When reached for comment by Insider on Thursday, representatives for Scott said, "it is completely inaccurate to say that Travis was aware of anything while on stage." Scott's attorney, Edwin F. McPherson, went into further detail during an interview with <a href="https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/video/travis-scotts-attorney-rapper-didnt-deadly-crowd-chaos-81127839">"Good Morning America"</a> that aired Friday, saying that Scott was not informed that a mass casualty event had been declared mid-show. "That never got to Travis, that never got to Travis' crew," he said.Scott didn't understand "the full effect of everything" that went on while he was performing until the next morning, McPherson told GMA. "Truly, he did not know what was going on," the lawyer said. "Understand that when he's up on the stage, and he has flash pots going off around him, and he has an ear monitor that has music blasting through it in his own voice, he can't hear anything, he can't see anything."<h2>Concertgoers were "kicked, stepped on, and trampled, and nearly crushed to death"</h2>Lira estimates she was out cold for around five minutes. When she regained consciousness, she recalls, she was still buried in a sea of bodies. "All of a sudden I had a big gasp of air and there was light over top of me again," she tells Insider. Someone pulled her up from the ground, but she found that she couldn't stand on one knee, which had been injured in her fall. As Lira tried to find something to hold onto for support, she noticed a person on the ground with blue lips. Medics reached the area, and Lira finally made her exit, following as they carried the body on a stretcher back through the crowd.Once she found the medical tent, Lira saw medics performing CPR on concertgoers. Someone offered to wrap her knee and call an ambulance, she recalls, but she declined because she doesn't have health insurance and went off in search of her friends instead.<div type="image" title="Astroworld memorial" height="1333" width="2000" msid="87686347" hostid="261"></div>Compared to some of the other injuries reported at the festival, Lira made it out relatively unscathed. Among those seriously injured is 9-year-old Ezra Blount, who was on his father's shoulders when the crowd crush happened. The father, Treston Blount, lost consciousness, and the boy fell to the ground, where he was "kicked, stepped on, and trampled, and nearly crushed to death," according to a <a href="https://www.insider.com/father-of-boy-coma-after-astroworld-trampling-sues-travis-scott-2021-11">lawsuit</a> the father filed. Ezra continues to fight for his life in a medically-induced coma on life support.Scott recorded a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BiFrfiuHAE">video</a> after the concert, saying his "fans really mean the world to me" and that "any time I can make out … anything that's going on, I stop the show and help them get the help they need." He's offered <a href="https://variety.com/2021/music/news/travis-scott-refund-all-astroworld-tickets-buyers-day-n-las-vegas-headline-canceled-1235107124/">refunds</a> for festival tickets, and has committed to paying for the victims' <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-pay-funeral-costs-astroworld-victims-2021-11&amp;sa=D&amp;source=docs&amp;ust=1636735676867000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1s_KaDtWuLsT_16LXoikgotWuLsT_16LXoikgo">funerals</a>. "We've been working closely with everyone to just try get to the bottom of this," he said. "I'm honestly just devastated, I could never imagine anything like this just happening."<h2>Legal fallout came swiftly as concertgoers filed dozens of lawsuits</h2>Astroworld 2021 is quickly shaping up to be a legal nightmare for its organizers, with nearly <a href="https://www.insider.com/ben-crump-file-lawsuits-over-100-astroworld-victims-2021-11">150</a> lawsuits <a href="https://www.insider.com/astroworld-travis-scott-faces-more-than-30-lawsuits-2021-11">filed</a> within a week of the deadly crowd surge. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/astroworld-victim-travis-scott-drake-live-nation-lawsuit-2021-11">Manuel Souza</a> filed suit the day after the incident, alleging he was trampled at the festival and asking for $1 million in damages. Souza's lawsuit calls the tragedy "months, if not years, in the making," citing one of Scott's now-deleted tweets encouraging fans to sneak into his concert, as well as multiple incidents that resulted in injuries at his previous performances.<div type="image" title="Cynthia Lira Astroworld" height="2715" width="2000" msid="87686349" hostid="261"></div>Houston-based attorney Tony Buzbee is representing the family of victim Axel Acosta, who he told reporters was <a href="https://www.insider.com/astroworld-victim-was-trampled-like-a-piece-of-trash-lawyer-2021-11">"trampled ... like a piece of trash."</a> Buzzbee said that neither Scott nor the concert organizers "cared enough about Axel to make even a minimal effort to keep him and others at the concert safe."However, legal experts told <a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-criminal-charges-not-likely-legal-experts-say-2021-11">Insider's Kenneth Niemeyer</a> that Scott is unlikely to face criminal charges in connection to the festival. Dmitry Shakhnevich, an adjunct assistant professor at the John Jay School of Criminal Justice, said there's a "slim" chance Scott would face criminal charges because investigators would have to prove the rapper intended to cause harm, or "at the very least" was grossly negligent. Neama Rahmani, president and cofounder of personal-injury firm West Coast Trial Lawyers, agreed. "You need something more than a tragic accident to get to criminal charges," he said.Three days after the concert, Lira went to see a doctor at the encouragement of friends, who said she could eventually sue the concert organizers and make them pay for her medical bills. She was experiencing pain in her knee and a numbness in her arm, and she had multiple bruises. A CT scan ultimately showed nothing abnormal and doctors told Lira she will heal with time. Unlike the bruises, the horror of being crushed in the crowd in front of the stage at Astroworld won't fade for Lira, who says she's completely changed her opinion of Scott, who she once counted among her favorite rappers."I know he saw the ambulance in the crowd, and he did not stop the concert … he was looking at the people passing out, yet he still continued to sing. That's ridiculous," she says. "I will not be supporting him any longer."

You Searched For "ezra blount" and got 12 results

A lawyer for a 9-year-old Astroworld victim said Travis Scott and 'others were clearly aware of the dangers' at the music festival

Taiyler Simone Mitchell,Rebecca Cohen

Ezra Blount, the 9-year-old boy trampled at Astroworld, has died from his injuries after being on life support for days

Matthew Loh

A 9-year-old is in a coma after he fell off his dad's shoulders at Astroworld and was trampled

Sophia Ankel

The father of a 9-year-old on life support following Astroworld Festival says 'I'm not ready to lose my boy'

Taylor Ardrey

Family of 9-year-old Astroworld victim rejects Travis Scott's offer to pay for his funeral

Rebecca Cohen

Astroworld victim's family says Kanye West is 'ridiculous' for asking Billie Eilish to apologize to Travis Scott

Ayomikun Adekaiyero

Father of 9-year-old on life support after Astroworld trampling sues Travis Scott, event organizers

Natalie Musumeci

Pandemic-linked stress may have fueled the deadly crowd surge at Astroworld, a sociologist says

Aria Bendix

A woman who lost her pregnancy during the Astroworld crowd surge has filed a wrongful death suit against Travis Scott and Live Nation

Erin Snodgrass

At least 7 of the 10 Astroworld concertgoers who died were standing in the same small section, according to a Washington Post investigation

Erin Snodgrass

10 Things in Politics: Buttigieg's legacy moment

Brent D. Griffiths

'I'm going to die because this man is not stopping the concert': How the deadly crowd surge at Astroworld unfolded

Ashley Collman