Hello and welcome to Outlaw Podcast. I'm Ellen O'Neal and in today's episode, we're in Houston in 2021 where 50,000 fans gathered at Travis Scott's annual Astroorld Festival to watch the man himself take the stage. Now, Travis is known for being a rager. This concert was expected to be wild, but by 9:53 p.m., it had been declared a mass casualty by the Houston Fire Department. Unconscious bodies were being dragged out of the crowd. Ambulances struggled their way in to save lives, but still 10 people died in the Astroorld tragedy and a further 300 were injured. But who is to blame for the mass deaths at the concert that day? Was it truly just a devastating accident or were red flags ignored? Was Astroorld a disaster just waiting to happen? [Music] Outlaw. Hello everyone. Um, I just wanted to drop in here before this episode properly starts to say that I have read the comments on the last episode and I appreciate the feedback that some of you guys think that the new style was a little too chatty. Look, I hear you and hopefully this episode will be a much better vibe match. This episode was filmed before the last one even went live, so before we got your feedback. So, if it's not quite there yet, just bear with me. We were much tighter with the edit, though, so it's definitely going in the right direction. Um, we're just still figuring out the best way to do this less edited podcast style, which is a choice that I've made for my own mental health when it comes to creating this content. So, thank you for your patience while we go through this learning curve. But the main thing that I hope shines through is what Outlaw stands for, and that's giving a platform to victims and voices and causes that need it. Again, I want to thank you for your feedback. I'm always open to it. I always have been, and that will never change. And with that being said, let's run back that Outlaw intro real quick and get into this episode on Astroorld Festival 2021. Outlaw. For many of you, Travis Scott probably needs no introduction. But since my mom listens to this podcast, and I know damn well she doesn't know who Travis Scott is, I will give you a brief introduction. Mom, he is literally one of the biggest rappers of the last 10 years. His sound is a little bit more like psychedelic and ambient, but he still has a lot of those core trap hip-hop sounds. He's won so many awards. He's had two babies with Kylie Jenner. He's got his own record label. And in 2018, he set up his own annual festival named Astroorld, and it was named after his most recent album at the time, one of his best performing albums ever. The first two Astroorld festivals went swimmingly. Travis even made a Netflix documentary called Look Mom, I Can Fly, where they documented the whole process of launching the album and the festival combo. But in 2020, Big Lady COVID came in and put a halt on Astroorld's third year, meaning that when they could finally go again in 2021, the anticipation was burning. This was supposed to be the biggest and best Astroorld yet. The lineup was absolutely insane. It had Bad Bunny, Young Thug, Scissor, 21 Savage, Tam Parlor were all set to perform. People began queuing up outside the festival gates in the early hours of Friday, November 5th. In fact, some people had already been there camping in the streets overnight, hoping to be the first ones in. And already on the morning of the first day, chaos was brewing amongst the crowds. It was a rowdy bunch. It was predicted that there were about 50,000 people piling in ready to rage. We say that it's predicted 50,000 because that's how many tickets were sold, but many people believe that there were a good number of sneakins, which would put that number even higher. By 8:15 a.m., things were already so tense with the crowds at the festival. Bear in mind, the gates aren't even open yet that police actually requested riot gear. No one's on stage yet. Nothing has happened. The gates haven't opened. This is just the queue to get in that is already so out of hand. Fans were throwing rubbish everywhere, pushing at the barricades, trying to force their way in early. It was becoming a mob and security felt powerless to control it. And then at 10:00 a.m. when the gates officially opened, the crowds completely stormed at the barricades and a stampede began. And I don't use the word stampede lightly, girls. There were thousands of people running past the security. Big, heavy pieces of equipment were falling on the floor. People were tripping over. Police were riding in on bloody horses. That's how you know that [ __ ] is getting real, when the horses come out. But seriously, already at 10:00 a.m. people were falling on the ground, being stepped on. Security were being really aggressive as well. And I guess like they have to they have to be a bit intimidating, but they were bodying people. They were literally like barging people, knocking them to the ground, tripping them up. Honestly, just adding to the chaos and the stress of the situation. And actually, before we get any further into this story, I do want to warn you that this episode we will be covering a lot of sensitive topics, including discussion of violence. suffocation, miscarriage, and death. As always, viewer discretion is advised. Basically, security was immediately overrun within the first few minutes of the festival, even before the festival even began. They weren't prepared at all. But they should have been really, because it wasn't the first time that Astroorld Festival had had a crowd like this. History was repeating itself. In 2019, fans had stormed at the gates, tore down barriers, jumped over fences, and three people were injured. so badly that they were taken to hospital. And afterwards, Travis actually praised and encouraged all of this behavior by tweeting, "Thanks to everybody that pulled up to rage." Which, I mean, in itself wouldn't be so bad. But accompanying this thank you tweet was a video montage of the event that included clips of his fans storming the security gates, raging out of control, and even a clip of an unconscious body being carried away. It's actually really insane to me that Travis would make a post that frankly encourages this kind of behavior at his shows, especially the unconscious body bit. But posting clips of your fans jumping the gate and thanking them for it, is a dangerous game. It'll make them want to outdo each other in chances that they'll get posted by Travis Scott himself if they rage hard enough. And hey, I don't want to sound like a party pooper. I'm fully aware that I sound like a stick in the mud, but when it comes to like raging and moshing and losing control at concerts, I am actually all for it. In fact, I think it's one of the healthiest ways that a lot of young men have to let off steam in a safe way. But in order to have safe moshing, safe raging, there needs to be enough space for the amount of people in that venue and the security needs to be on the ball and super super responsive. That is paramount. Now, Travis's shows are known for the mosh pits, the crowd surfing, the stage diving. It's meant to be high energy and fun, and more often than not, these shows do end safely with no major injury. So, why wasn't that the case for Astroorld Festival 2021? By midday, things were completely out of control. Fans were breaking into the festival using bolt cutters. Of course, by this point, so many people had allegedly snuck in or climbed the fences that there was no way of actually knowing how many people were inside the festival. And this was supposed to be the calm before the storm. Remember this? These are the first couple of hours of the festival. In 9 hours, Travis Scott himself would be taking the stage. And that was the main event of this festival for most attendees. The actual festival site that we're talking about was in Houston, Texas, and it was huge. There were two stages. Obviously, the bigger of the two was the main stage with a crowd area that was roughly the size of three American football fields. And to manage the attendees, metal barriers were dividing the sections near the front of the stage into four zones. You had north, south, east, and west. And these barriers created pathways for security and medical personnel to be able to like walk through the crowds safely and quickly. And as the day went on, these front sections in front of the stage were filling out more and more. But the biggest rush came at 8:30 p.m. that night, half an hour before Travis was coming on, right after Scissor had just finished her set on the secondary stage. Everyone was running from there to the main stage where Travis would come on at 900 pm. And this crowd surge was mainly forcing its way into the south section which was filling up rapidly. The people that were already at the front had it the worst. They were being pressed into the barriers. They had nowhere to move. At best, it was claustrophobic. At worst, people were struggling to hold themselves up and falling onto other people who also couldn't hold themselves up. All it would take is for someone to slip under the falling crowd, and they likely wouldn't be able to get back up again. And what follows would only be suffocation and being stamped all over. As 9:00 p.m. approached, a massive red timer appeared on the screen, counting down the seconds until Travis's entrance. With each tick, the crowd squished in more and more, and a feeling of pure panic spread in those final seconds. And as people began to realize that there was no way out, the show begins. The timer hit zero, and everything erupted. The beat dropped, flames shot out into the air, and Travis himself jumped up from a trapoor in the stage. The crowd went crazy for about 20 seconds. The festival was electric. It was a moment of pure euphoria and adrenaline that very quickly disappeared and everything changed. People in the tighter parts of the crowd couldn't move enough to even dance. Like jumping was impossible. They were that packed in together like sardines. People were being swept up in the relentless pull of the crowd. They would lose their balance and fall down only to be tripped over by more people. Footage from the south section of the festival shows this whole crowd swaying together like as one big unit back and forth. They were completely at the current's mercy. It's quite terrifying to watch. What was happening here was known as a crowd surge. This is when a very tightly packed crowd gets all pushed in the same direction. It makes waves of people falling onto each other. And crowd surges are so dangerous that they can often be deadly. A surge is different to a stampede, which generally moves like in one single direction. A surge is far more chaotic. It's waves of pressure from all different angles as people are falling over. Other people are pushing against it. People are trying to squeeze out of the crowd. It's really disorientating. Disorienting. Disorientating. I think that's the British version. Or maybe I've just made that up. Anyway, it's really [ __ ] scary. And actually, I have a horrifying fact for you. The force from a crowd surge can actually be strong enough to bend steel. It is so incredibly dangerous. Imagine the kind of effect that that could have on a human body, on bones, on your squishy little organs. An Astroorld survivor has actually been quoted saying, "There was a lot of people in my section that were kind of like screaming and having panic attacks just because it felt almost as if you were under an elevator and the elevator was coming down on you and there was nothing you could do about it." I remember I was about to tell my boyfriend to tell my son that I loved him because as it went on, it got to the point where I was like, I'm going to die. Now, we've talked a lot about how dense the crowd was, but to be able to put some figures on it, there's a general rule of thumb for safe crowd density. In a tightly packed crowd, like a concert, there should be about 4.5 square foot per person. In a mosh pit, where it's obviously a lot tighter, 2.5 square ft per person is considered safe. But in the south section of the Astroorld Festival, the density reached 1.85. And to put that into perspective, when the space drops just a little bit lower to 1.5 square feet per person, you've hit what's called the crushing point. And that's when it is so tight that people's lungs physically cannot expand enough to take in a proper breath. And that is what's known as compression asphyxiation. And it it's genuinely as horrifying as it sounds. You literally cannot breathe no matter how hard you're gasping for air. It's so [ __ ] scary. And the south section was so dangerously close to that point. People were fully aware that they were struggling to breathe and they couldn't get out. They couldn't save themselves. And then about 3 minutes into the concert, people started to fall. Two of the people that were dragged down into the depths of the crowd were 27-year-old Danish B and his fianceé, 25-year-old Olivia Swingle. The couple were freshly engaged and looking forward to spending the rest of their lives together. They'd even brought along one of Danish's younger brothers along to the show. It was supposed to be like a chance to make some unforgettable memories as a family. Danish was probably the most excited of all of them for this festival. He was a budding musician himself. He'd actually built a whole recording studio in his house and Travis was a huge inspiration for him. He had been looking forward to this concert for months. And so for that exact reason, they made sure to get to the south section early in order to be as close as possible to the barricade for Travis. But Danish would barely even get to see the first few minutes of the set. Once the music began, the couple were practically fighting for their lives. Danish was doing his best to protect Olivia, who was much smaller, and she was getting beaten around, all while fighting to keep himself up and his brother. And then all of them were separated. Olivia was shoved to the ground. And I can't imagine the kind of fear that would come over you in that moment. You're on the floor. People are treading all over you from above. And no one can really help you. No one can even really see that you're down there. But in some sort of miracle, Olivia manages to drag herself over to the barriers right at the front of the stage where medics reached her and helped her and got her to safety. Danish's little brother also managed to get to safety, but Danish himself wasn't so lucky. He had gotten caught up in the current of bodies and swept under, and he couldn't pull himself out. By the time that medics reached him, it was already too late. He was unconscious, and attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. Danish was only 27 years old when he lost his own life fighting to save the woman that he loved at a concert that he had been dreaming of attending. Danish was known in his family to be the protector. He had a huge heart and he lived to take care of the ones he loved, something that he did right until his very last moments on this earth. He'd even been planning to buy his parents a house at the end of the month. A dream that he had been working so hard to make a reality, but now he wouldn't get that chance. He would never get to marry the woman he loved or to make the music he so enjoyed. And that is just within the first few minutes of the show beginning. He didn't deserve it. He tried saving her and he saved her. She was admitted into the hospital. It cost him his life. Also in the south section was a 9-year-old boy named Ezra Blunt. And it's important to note that actually at the Astroorld Festival, there was no age restriction. Anyone of any age was welcome to come as long as they were accompanied by a parent. Then they could attend the rager of the year, whether they were fresh out of the womb or 97. As the show began, Ezra's dad had him up on his shoulders so that he could obviously see the stage. But as the crowd began to push from all sides, the pressure became unbearable and his father couldn't breathe to the point where he eventually passed out with Ezra still on his shoulders. So this man fell to the ground unconscious. Ezra slipped off his shoulders and fell into the sea of bodies. And by the time his dad came round, Ezra was gone. Somebody had managed to find and drag this 9-year-old boy from the crowd. and he was rushed to a children's hospital where doctors actually had to put him in a medically induced coma. This boy had serious serious injuries. His liver, his kidneys, and his brain were all affected. It was really, really bad. Of course, doctors did absolutely everything in their power to save him. But tragically, just two days after the Astroorld Festival, on Sunday the 7th of November, 9-year-old Ezra died as a result of the injuries that he sustained. He was the youngest victim to lose his life as a result of the Astroorld disaster. And my heart breaks in so many ways, not only for that sweet little boy, but for his father, who was crushed into unconsciousness, unable to protect his baby. and now he won't get to see him grow up and become a man. The part of this tragedy that is just the most unsettling to me is the idea that so many people were blissfully unaware that people were literally dying around them. Hundreds, if not thousands of people were having one of the best nights of their life while more and more victims were being trampled to death beneath their feet. Also in the south section stood 23-year-old Madison Dubiski, 23-year-old Ralfulo Anel Penna, 21-year-old Axel Aosta Aila, 20-year-old Jacob Jurin, and 21-year-old Franco Patino. All of them died that night at Astroorld. And I think what makes all of this even harder to process is just how young so many of these people were. They were barely adults. Some of them weren't even that. They had their whole lives ahead of them. And they weren't there alone. Their friends and family were right there, right beside them, witnessing their loved one die at a concert. They had all turned up at Astroorld Festival that day, expecting great memories to be made. And now they're left with horrific trauma that they will carry for the rest of their lives. It is beyond heartbreaking. While all of this chaos was going on, Travis just kept performing. Apparently, he was completely oblivious to what was going on in the crowd. In concert footage, however, you can literally hear people screaming, "Help! Help! Stop the show." You know what's help? But Travis has always maintained that he couldn't hear those screams, or at least he couldn't tell that they were screams of terror. I guess all screams might sound the same when you're up on stage with music blasting. You've got in ears in, but this is something I want to investigate in this episode because some people find it hard to believe that Travis was completely unaware of the carnage. Even if he couldn't hear the screams, there are clips of him performing in the direction of paramedics working on people in critical condition in the crowd. About 20 minutes into his set, Travis did acknowledge an ambulance literally like pushing its way through the sea of bodies. He stops and he says, "There's an ambulance in the crowd." Whoa. What the [ __ ] is that? There's an ambulance in the crowd. Whoa, whoa, whoa. He does take a brief moment before starting the next song, I guess, like hoping that the crowd would settle. And then he says, "If everybody good, put a middle finger up in the sky." Like girl, there is literally a [ __ ] ambulance driving head first into this concert crowd. I've never seen anything like that before. But still, Travis is hyping up the crowd. And you know what? I don't want to be too harsh on Travis because like what is the perfect thing to do in this situation? I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't handle it in the most efficient way since it is such a unique circumstance none of us can relate to. But one thing that I cannot and will not defend Travis for is right after he paused to acknowledge this ambulance, he gets the crowd re-engaged saying, "I want to make this [ __ ] ground shake. Godamn it. I want to make this [ __ ] ground shake. God damn it." I will repeat myself. Girl, there is literally a [ __ ] emergency vehicle driving into the crowd to work on your concert attendees who are in critical condition. Can we put a pause on the rage for five minutes until everyone is safe? Like, imagine how much harder him saying that would have made it for the medical team to actually get to the people that they need to help. Bear in mind, the crowd is so packed that the only way that this ambulance can get through is if people somehow move and make space, which is quite impossible. There is no room to move into. If Travis really wanted to help in this situation, he could have told the crowd to make some room. Watch out for the ambulance. Why would you tell them to make the ground shake instead? That is actually the last thing we need right now. Obviously, I am not a festival performer, but I think that if I was and I saw an ambulance driving into my crowd, the most responsible thing for anyone to do in that situation is to pause. So many artists pause their shows these days when things get dangerous, even prior to this tragedy in 2021. I will acknowledge that people artists pausing their shows has become a lot more common since this artists are learning from the Astroorld tragedy. But even huge artists like Adele, Billy Eyish, Lil Pump have stopped their concerts when they've spotted a fan fainting in the crowd or having a seizure or whatever. People needing to get out. Hang on. Stop. Stop. Stop. Security. Do need securityities help right in the middle there. Can you see where they're all waving? Can you see over there? Can you get in there? They're coming. They're coming. They're coming right through now. Bank room. Everyone move out the way, please. They're coming. [Applause] You got him. Okay. Right. That's not even all the way back in 1993, Kurt Cobain was pausing Nirvana shows when he spotted something dodgy going on in the crowd. There was this one show where Kurt spotted a guy sexually assaulting a woman in his crowd and he literally jumped up out of his seat, ran to the front of the stage, and was screaming to get this guy kicked out of his concert. Like I just think it's disappointing that Travis Scott saw a whole entire ambulance and all that came of it was like 30 seconds of confusion and then he commanded the crowd to make the ground shake. All it would take is 5 minutes to clear a path. 5 minutes to make sure that someone didn't lose their life. 5 minutes that could have changed everything. At 9:38 p.m. officials declared Astroorld Festival a mass casualty event. Now, the show's producer, Live Nation, apparently agreed to cut the performance short, but that didn't exactly happen, and the show continued for a further 37 minutes after that point. By now, two very brave high school students had scaled a platform where the camera operators were standing, and they were desperately trying to get the staff's attention, screaming and pointing into the crowd, saying, "Someone's dead in there." But the camera operators either couldn't hear them or just didn't give a [ __ ] And they were simply waving the kids away, like motioning for them to get back down off the platform, back into the death trap that was the Astroorld crowd. One of these students that had scaled the platform was an 18-year-old boy named Aiden Cruz. He had come to the festival with his girlfriend and her best friend, Brianna Rodriguez. Within a couple of minutes of Travis starting his set, Aiden, his girlfriend, and Brianna were all separated, knocked to the ground, and trampled. People were collapsing on top of them, crushing them. Aiden later said it was like, "You're suffocating. You're counting your last breaths." Thankfully, he managed to lock eyes with a friend who pulled him up out of the pile of bodies. His girlfriend was also dragged to safety. But when he found her again, she was shaking. She was crying, asking the same thing over and over. Where's Brianna? No one had seen Brianna since they had all been dragged under. And that was when Aiden panicked, climbed the platform, and began begging and pleading for the cameramen to stop the show or to help. And you know, sure, maybe these camera operators didn't have the power to shut down the entire concert. But surely they have a radio or some way of contacting other staff members or medical personnel who could do something. Eventually, medical staff did find Brianna Rodriguez in the crowd, but by then it was too late. She was unconscious and couldn't be resuscitated. She was only 16 years old. Elsewhere in the crowd, even more desperate attempts were being made to save lives. In fact, one man in particular, a 26-year-old marine named Lucas, was proving to be quite a savior at Astroorld Festival. At one point, he found a girl who had fallen over and been trampled. He managed to drag her up and literally resuscitate her in the middle of the crowd. He was performing CPR. Thankfully, she came round. He literally saved a girl's life. But at that point, he was like, "Fuck this. I'm going to die in this crowd." So, he's trying to make his way out. And as he's almost out, he spots another man laying on the ground covered in blood and actively still being trampled by everyone around him. Lucas was almost certain that this guy was already dead, but still he pulled him up and tried to perform CPR anyway. Mid crowd surge, he tried his absolute best, but soon Lucas realized that he was putting his own life on the line. He was already struggling to breathe and he barely had any strength left. In the end, Lucas had no choice but to leave the man behind and get himself out of the crowd. And what a harrowing moment that must have been. And even worse, as he fought his way out, he realized that he was stepping on bodies, unsure if they were alive or dead under his feet. And then to make all of this even worse, once Lucas got out of the crowd, he rushed over to a security guard to try and inform them of just how dangerous it is in there. And you will be horrified by just how much they didn't seem to care. At this point, Lucas is beaten up. He's covered in mud and probably a load of blood as well. He says, "I talked to some security guards and they're laughing about it. Like, oh man, looks like you had a really good time." And I'm like, "No, man. I'm pretty sure I just saw people die in there." And the security guard's like, "Oh, man. It was that crazy." And I'm like, "Yeah, it's [ __ ] crazy in there right now. I'm pretty sure more people are dying." Lucas said that the security guard just left with his friend and walked away. I just cannot make sense of that. Not only is that just heartless and evil, but let's not forget it is literally your job to get involved and keep the festival safe when you hear of stories like that. But I will get back to the pathetic excuse for a security team later on in this episode. I have a lot to say about them. Anyways, back inside the chaos about 42 minutes into the show, Travis is actually starting to take the crowd chaos seriously at this point. He pauses his next song when he notices a fan passed out in the crowd. Well, actually, he doesn't pause the song. He doesn't pause the show entirely. He just tells his band to play more slowly while he waves the security over to the fan that needs help. Oh, just play it slowly. We need somebody to help him. Somebody passed out right here. Somebody passed out right here. Hold on. Don't touch him. Don't touch him. Everybody just back up. Security, somebody help jump in real quick. Keep going. Just keep it this way. Somebody jump in. Come on. Come on. Security. Get in there. Let's get in there. Let's get in there. Let's get in there. Let's get in there. Yeah. And actually, this little part of the story makes people a bit suspicious of Travis because he later insisted that he didn't see or wasn't aware of any of the horrific things that were going on in the crowd from all the way up there on the stage. And I think I would believe him had he not seen and acknowledged this case. You know, some people find it hard to believe that he missed the desperate cries to stop the show, the security dragging unconscious bodies over the barricade and the only thing he did see and acknowledge and help out with was this one isolated fainting incident. I don't know. You can make up your own mind on that. Now, just when the crowd was already at breaking point, at 9:54 p.m., a special guest made an appearance on stage, none other than Drizzy Drake, Aubrey Graham. People were dying. Fans were being carried out lifeless. And yet, producers still sent Drake out on stage like nothing was wrong. Remember, Astroorld had already been declared a mass casualty event at this point, a good few minutes ago, actually. And they're still ramping up the hype out there on stage. And what I want to know is, was Drake kept in the dark? Did he know that it was a mass casualty event? Did he know that people were being crushed out there? Could he see or hear anything from stage? I know that Travis said that he couldn't. But anyway, Drake does his little section of the show without anything being acknowledged. It just seemed like a normal show. But it was around this time when Travis was informed backstage that the show would be ending early. Not too much early, mind you. It was supposed to be an hour and 15 minute set, but they cut just a few songs and ended at 10:10 p.m. with Goosebumps. His big finale. Travis wasn't given much of an explanation as to why they were ending early. He said, "They just told me after, you know, the guests get off stage, which is Drake, we're going to end the show." But it wasn't communicated on why. According to Travis himself, he said that there was no sense of urgency in the way that they told him to finish the show early. So, he just kind of like took his time saying goodbye and leaving the stage. He thanked the Oh my god, my earring just dropped out of my ear. What the hell? Anyways, as I was saying, he thanked the other artists that came out and performed with him. He told his fans that he loved them. He told them to get home safe, but some of them never did. Some of them had already lost their lives out there. The show finally came to an end 37 minutes after Astroorld had been declared a mass casualty event. But even as the crowds dissipated, the tragedy still wasn't over. The death toll from that night didn't end there. One week later, 22-year-old Barti Shahani, who had been taken to the hospital with critical injuries, tragically died. She was in her final year of university. She was ready to hop out into the big wide world, but her promising future was taken from her. She was one of the 10 people who lost their lives at Astroorld Festival. 10 fans who turned up that night excited to see Travis Scott perform and never made it home. And now 10 families are left grieving an unimaginable loss. Bart's cousin spoke out about her death, asking people not to call what happened at Astroorld a tragedy because that word implies that it was unavoidable. I think the word that should be used is atrocity. This was 100% avoidable and this was an act of pure pure brutality. I too believe that this tragedy, this atrocity was avoidable. Many people do. There were so many red flags coming into it and because they were overlooked, we have 10 lives to mourn. Madison Dubisky was only 23 years old when she died at Astroorld. She was known for her incredibly kind, loving personality and her passion for giving back to others. By the time that she'd graduated high school, Madison had already completed over 500 hours of volunteer work and contributed to 25 different charities. So her family wanted to honor that and carry on her legacy of kindness and service. So they created the Pink Bose Foundation, which focuses on promoting stronger safety protocols at entertainment venues, making sure that concerts and festivals like this one are actually safe for everyone. Their goal is to prevent avoidable injuries and deaths so that no other family has to go through what Madison's family did. And if you would like to support the foundation and help to keep Madison's legacy alive, then you can make a donation on their website. Of course, we will have it linked in the description of this episode along with our link tree, which is always linked in the descriptions of our episodes and that has a bunch of different resources, charities, helplines, anything you might possibly need, we have tried to cram into that link tree. It's all available in the description below. So, now it's time to talk about the aftermath of Astroorld. Let's start with the immediate aftermath, actually. Travis Scott comes off stage slightly earlier than expected and heads to an afterparty at Dave and Busters. Now, it might seem a bit inappropriate given what just happened, but actually at this point in time, no one had told Travis Scott that people had died at his concert. And maybe this is proof of his argument that he really didn't know how bad things had gotten in that crowd. If he thought for one second that people might have died at his show that night, it'd be pretty [ __ ] sick and twisted to show up and celebrate at an afterparty. It was apparently during said afterparty that Travis was informed of the deaths and apparently he left the party immediately. And at that point in time when Travis was told about it, the death toll was at 8. I actually think it's quite shocking that Travis wasn't told sooner. But, you know, I'm trying to understand a lot of these different intricacies from an inside point of view. Like, I can almost understand why they kept him in the dark while he was performing. Maybe it was about protecting the show's profits. Maybe they were afraid that stopping the music would cause even more panic. But does that justify not stopping the show? Absolutely not. It was I'm going to say this a lot in this episode, but it was declared a mass casualty event. I think there's no circumstances in which we should keep that [ __ ] going. And like I say, I am trying to see this from other angles, but that is the thing that is getting me. It was declared a mass casualty event by the Houston Fire Department. Why are we still going? How did they keep it going for 37 minutes beyond that point? Someone is responsible for making that decision. And I just I need an explanation. Maybe the big guns behind Astroorld, Live Nation and such, maybe they were trying to cover up their own failings because from the start, in my opinion, there were obvious red flags that this festival was a disaster waiting to happen. With so many people attending, a crowd surge was always going to be a risk, as is the case for most festivals and outdoor events. But the Astroorld organizers never had a plan to handle it. In the aftermath of the tragedy, a 56-page document was released that outlined the operations plan for the festival. It covered all kinds of scenarios from active shooters to bomb threats and terrorism threats, severe weather conditions, all of the big important things you might expect them to be prepared for. But what it didn't include was the one thing that actually happened. What to do in the event of a crowd surge. And it gets even more disturbing. At least I think this is weird as [ __ ] In the plan, there's a section about what to do if someone dies. Staff were instructed to alert event control using the code word smurf. [ __ ] Smurf, as in the blue color that your skin turns when you die. Like, I don't know if I'm reading too much into that, but even if I am, it's also just a ridiculous word to use when referring to someone tragically accidentally losing their life at a festival. Whose idea was it to use the word smurf as a code word? Like the staff were specifically told never to use the terms dead or deceased over the radio. And you know what? I get that. Like if other attendees were to overhear that, it would send them into a panic. But Smurf, and I assume the code word Smurf was utilized multiple times that night. But still, no one stopped the show, even when it was declared a mass casualty event. Many people think that Live Nation does not come off well in this case. They produced the event. They knew that people had died already. They knew about the mass casualty event declaring. They knew that others were being rushed to the hospital and yet Travis wasn't brought off stage. Drake was even actively sent out to join the party and to hype the crowd up even more. That part is mental to me. In the days and weeks following the festival, it was also discovered that the security and safety teams were not up to scratch. And I mean, we could have guessed that, but you'll be frankly appalled by how inadequate they were. It turns out that not everyone working at Astroorld Security was licensed in Texas. The head of risk management, the man at the very top who was responsible for directing and overseeing all the security and safety operations, wasn't a licensed private security officer or a police officer in Texas. Three other security directors weren't licensed either. Oh, and the company that they all worked for. Yeah. Also not registered in Texas's private security database. They had some absolute cowboy security guards on the job. No idea where they'd found them. But one guy who was working security actually told reporters that he had turned up to work at the festival that day and was never told what his specific job was or who his boss was. Nothing. He just got there and followed round a bunch of other security guards for the day who looked like they knew what they were doing. And actually, I have another story about another security guard who literally quit on the morning of the festival before it had all already kicked off because he had seen posts online about fans who were planning to rage. They were planning to storm the barricades and sneak in and use [ __ ] bolt cutters. Like, he knew the kind of chaos that was incoming. and he brought this up to his superiors, but he said that it fell on deaf ears. This guy was concerned for his own safety and that's why he left. He got out early. You mentioned that you had heard online that there was a plan to storm the gates. So, that was something that you were expecting would happen at the front gates. Who did you tell and what did they say to you? I did mention that to uh two of the superiors that were at the station by the front gate. They did um offer me a different position or a different role for the day which would have been me kind of walking the perimeter to keep it secure to make sure no one hops the gate or you know no one tries to sneak in the festival but I really didn't feel comfortable with doing that either because I didn't really receive any type of training whatsoever to handle you know anything. What you know what was your job requirement? What you said there's not much training. What were the job requirements for this? Well, the only requirement that was mentioned on the online posting was, you know, at least one year of customer service is preferred, which I have plenty. And it did say that you'd be required to get a level two security license. So, you know, based on those two things, I felt like they would put me in a position to succeed based on my minimum security qualifications. It's just astounding how bad the security job was here. Loads of guys not even licensed in the state. No emergency plan for a crowd surge, which is quite frankly one of the most likely emergencies to be had at a concert, is it not? And now we're left with a heartbreaking tragedy that didn't have to happen. So Bart's cousins got a point. Maybe we shouldn't be calling Astroorld a tragedy. Maybe we should be calling it what it really was, an atrocity. Travis Scott's shows have a history of getting dangerously out of control. He loves to call himself the king of rage. And sure, that looks cool on posters and on t-shirts, but when that rage turns into fans getting trampled and injured and ending up in hospital beds, it's not fun anymore. It's not cute. It's not cool. For example, at his 2015 Laala Palooa show, Travis actively encouraged his fans to storm the security and to jump up onto the stage. He even told the security team to back off, shouting, "Everyone in the green shirt, get the [ __ ] back." So fans started physically assaulting the security guards, climbing over each other, and clawing their way onto the stage. It was complete mayhem, but that was exactly what Travis wanted. That was exactly what he was encouraging. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured at that Lola Palooa show. But looking back, it's hard to ignore just how close that also came to being a disaster. And it didn't seem like Travis truly cared about the consequences of a rage like this. He didn't care if his fans got hurt or trampled or if they were assaulting his security workers. And that's actually a whole thing in itself. the way that he encourages a lack of respect for the security at his shows. They were seen as people that are trying to ruin the fun, people that shouldn't be listened to. There are so many examples out there of Travis actively encouraging recklessness at his shows. In 2017, he was telling his fans to jump down into the crowd from a second story balcony. He was shouting up to them saying, "Are you going to do it? They're going to catch you. Don't be scared. I see you, boy. You going to do it. Give me Give me Give me 18 real quick. I see you, but are you going to do it? Turn the lights on. Turn the lights on. They going to catch you. Don't be scared. Don't be scared. One of the lads that had fallen to the ground floor from that second story balcony, his name was Kyle, and he hadn't jumped willingly. He had been pushed over the railing and onto the people below due to, would you believe, a crowd surge, Kyle was seriously [ __ ] up by this fall. He had gone straight onto the cold, sticky, hard floor. But instead of being immediately rushed off for medical attention, how he should have been, the security picked him up and dragged him over to the stage for Travis to see him. And this bit is actually mental, right? Travis took a ring off of his finger and handed it to Kyle like it was some sort of trophy for surviving the chaos. That person from the third story that jump from the third story, somebody help them get out, please. They legs broke. Hey, whoever you are, I owe you a chain. You just sacrificed your limbs. But I don't know why you did that. But I love you so much. Everybody make some noise. And it was only then when Kyle was transported to hospital where his extensive injuries were realized. He suffered a fractured vertebrae, a broken left wrist, a fractured right ankle, and permanent spinal damage that left him paralyzed and relying on a wheelchair for the rest of his life. And what's even more heartbreaking is that according to Kyle's legal team, if he had been given proper medical care immediately after the fall, he might not have ended up paralyzed, but instead he was dragged up onto the stage to be used as an example of a true reckless rager. It just seems that time and time again, Travis Scott doesn't learn from the consequences of encouraging such behavior in his fans. They're getting lifelong injuries, ending up hospitalized, and now 10 people are dead. He has built a culture of chaos at his shows. His fans are showing up with the mentality that getting hurt is just part of the experience. On his Instagram, he will post photos of fans who have passed out or thrown up. Their faces are covered in blood, almost like it's a badge of honor. In 2014, he captioned an Instagram post, "It's not a show until someone pass out." The message is pretty clear. Only the strongest will make it through a Travis Scott concert. Some fans will survive the rage and others won't be so lucky. And if you do survive, Travis might even honor your bravery by posting your picture on Instagram. It's almost like he's building a twisted wall of fallen heroes. But anyway, back to Astroorld specifically. The very next day after that awful crowd surge, Travis posted an apology video on Instagram. And you know what? I actually don't want to be too mean because I can't imagine how awful it must feel to know that 10 of your fans that have supported you literally died in front of you at a concert. And I don't know what kind of effect that would have on a person. But this video that Travis Scott posted where he's like apologizing and acknowledging the whole situation, it just doesn't have any emotion in it at all. He's rubbing his head and rubbing his eyes, but like in a tired way, like he's just woken up. It's like he really didn't know what he wanted to say when he picked the camera up. He's like, you know, if if you know anything, contact your local authorities. I mean, I'm just devastated. In case you're listening to this episode audio only as well, I have to let you know that he even put a black and white filter on the video to make it like extra emotional classic for a sad video. And you know what? I truly do believe that Travis Scott cares about his fans and that he was saddened by the deaths, but I just think there's some kind of cognitive dissonance there for him. You can't command the rage to get crazier and crazier and then be shocked when those same raging fans get seriously injured or die. Cuz that's essentially what you're asking for when you're telling them to go harder and harder, posting pictures of them covered in blood, videos of them passing out. Like, what do you expect? I think it speaks to another issue of stars seeing their fans as just numbers or just like a sea of bodies in front of them. They forget that they are individual human beings with families and and bodies that feel physical pain. I think this is a realization that hit Travis hard after Astroorld and we can only hope that it sticks with him for future concerts. I just want to send out prayers to the to the ones that was lost last night. We're actually working right now to identify the families so we can help assist them through this tough time. Travis himself offered to cover the funeral costs for all 10 victims. And I think that's great. I mean, I actually kind of come to expect this kind of thing as a bare minimum in situations like this. Is that wrong? Maybe this is a bad take, but I think when a tragic accident happens within the circle of a mega millionaire superstar who has money to burn, like yeah, I think you should be footing the bill for funerals. It's like, for example, when Lady Gaga's dog walker was shot, we have an old episode on that case, by the way, if you want to if you want to listen. Um, Lady Gaga wasn't even in the country at the time, but she paid for her dog walker's medical bills and all of his care because, well, yeah, you have so much money that you don't even know what to do with it. Please do help the people around you when they're in such horrific circumstances. You know, I think it's a nice gesture from Travis, although a lot of people think that it was big up in the press to a tasteless degree, almost like it was a PR move to gain back public favor after Astroorld. And actually, seven out of the 10 families refused Travis's offer to pay or reimburse them for the funerals. Because actually, I think that's quite a big part of it is that this offer came too little too late. Many of the families had already had the funerals. It had already taken place. They'd already paid out of pocket. They had grieved. And by the time they had received this offer from Travis Scott for the reimbursement, they just kind of wanted to move on with their lives. Many of the families actually seemed offended by such an offer. 14-year-old John Hilgurt lost his life that day. And when Travis offered to reimburse his family for the funeral, they called it demeaning and inappropriate given the magnitude of the tragedy that unfolded. A full police investigation was launched after Astroorld into Travis Scott and five others that were tied to the festival. But in the end, police said that there just wasn't enough evidence to file criminal charges against anyone. But that didn't mean that everyone was getting off scot-free. Travis and Live Nation, the event organizers, ended up facing 10 wrongful death lawsuits from the victim's families. All of them have since been settled outside of court. And as of today, there are still thousands of lawsuits that are still waiting to go to court almost four years later. Most of these were filed by those who were injured that night or sent to hospital. In total, there were 4,932 legal claims filed against Astroorld. That's mad. That's nearly 5,000. 732 of these claims were from people who had suffered physical injuries requiring extensive medical treatment. And a further 1,649 were for people that had injuries that required less extensive medical treatment, but they still required medical treatment. That's like over 2,000 people that needed medical treatment. And one of these thousands of cases, obviously I don't have time to go into that many of them, but I did want to include this one because it included the death of an unborn child. A woman named Shazia suffered a miscarriage as a result of being trampled and crushed by the crowds. Not to mention the emotional psychological pain that would follow losing your baby like that. After nearly four years of waiting, the victims and their families deserve answers. They deserve accountability. Travis Scott may be the king of rage, but that night at Astroorld, he stood on a stage in front of a crowd that was trapped in the gates of hell while 10 people died before him. Whether or not you believe Travis when he says that he had no idea how bad the crowd situation had gotten, the heartbreaking reality is no one should have died at that concert. The security wasn't properly vetted. They let things spiral out of control before the gates had even opened. And when the festival was officially declared a mass casualty event, no one put a stop to it. They let him keep performing as lifeless bodies were being carried out of the crowd. But chaos, mayhem, and raging is all part of the Travis Scott experience. He tells his fans that there should be no bystanders at his concert. Everyone should be raving. But that night, he stood by and proved to the world that he was the biggest bystander of them all. Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of Outlaw Podcast. If you're watching on YouTube, don't forget to subscribe, leave a like, leave us a comment so that we can continue the conversation. If you're listening on a podcast platform, please rate us five stars. Pretty please. and I will see you in the next episode.