The 2021 Astroworld Festival turned out to be a tragic night for many, as chaos erupted during Travis Scott's performance, resulting in the death of eight people and hundreds more suffering injuries.
The family of nine-year-old fan Ezra Blount who attended Astroworld is suing rapper Travis Scott, as the boy is now in a medically induced coma after being kicked, stepped on, and trampled at the festival. The family hired famed Civil Rights attorney Benjamin Crump to file the case against Travis Scott and promoter Live Nation Entertainment Inc.
In an interview with CNN, Ezra's grandfather Bernon Blount said, "When my son went to the concert, he had my grandson on his shoulders. All the people pushed in and he could not breathe so he ended up passing out because of all the pressure that was being applied to his body. And when he passed out, Ezra fell off his shoulder and fell into the crowd."
Bernon added that their family is "devastated because this was supposed to be a father-son outing for them to bond and it has turned into something horrible and tragic."
Attorneys Benjamin Crump and Alex and Bob Hilliard released a statement on behalf of the Blount family, saying, "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."
In the suit against Travis Scott and Live Nation Entertainment Inc., Crump writes that Ezra is suffering severe liver, kidney, and brain damage, and that the injuries will reportedly affect his "ability to grow and thrive."
Another attendee at Astroworld, Bharti Shahani, a 22-year-old student at Texas A&M University, has been declared brain dead after suffering injuries during the crowd surge. She went with her sister and cousin, but they were separated in the crowd when things got too chaotic.
Her cousin Mohit Bellani told ABC13, "Once one person fell, people started toppling like dominos. It was like a sinkhole. People were falling on top of each other. There were like layers of bodies on the ground, like two people thick. We were fighting to come up to the top and breathe to stay alive."
Once Mohit and Bharti's sister Namrata finally escaped the crowd, Bharti was nowhere to be found. Namrata told ABC13, "Once we let go of her hand, the next time we saw her, we were in the ER."
Bharti has been in critical condition on a ventilator since the tragic night of the festival.
Travis Scott has offered to cover the funeral costs for those who lost their lives at his Astroworld Festival. In a statement released by Scott's representatives, they say he is working with law enforcement to identify and connect with concertgoers and the families of the deceased, saying that "these are the first of many steps Travis plans on taking as a part of his personal vow to assist those affected throughout their grieving and recovery process."
Scott has also reportedly partnered with BetterHelp to offer free mental health services to those who are seeking help after being traumatized by the event at Astroworld.
Radar Online reports that Scott faces more than 20 lawsuits for his alleged negligence of continuing to play as people were being crushed and ambulances arrived. Another concertgoer, Noah Gutierrez, will also be represented by Benjamin Crump, the same attorney representing Blount family.
Scott has not yet commented on the lawsuits. ~Sean Olegario
Update November 15, 2021: Both Bharti Shahani and Ezra Blount have since passed away in hospital.
He saw ambulances. He was told by police that the crowd was potentially going to get out of hand before the show. He should have stopped playing. That goes for Drake too. They are going to have to pay millions to get out of this mess.
Something doesn't add up in this boy/father story. The boy was on his father shoulders, which means he was higher than everyone around in the crowd. So how did he get pushed & crushed to the point of becoming short of breath and passing out while on his father's shoulders. The father would have been pushed & crushed but his son since he was above the crowd, wouldn't have experienced this. If the boy was put on the ground or fell to the ground, then yes this would have occurred to him. But then wouldn't the first instinct of a father be to protect his son like throw himself on top of his son in order to receive the blows of the crowd. Something tells me that the father's version of what happen might need to be examined. And yes, I believe that the production company is responsible for this tragedy. These types of occurrences have occurred at festivals and concerts in the pass. Better precautions and safety measures should have been put in place. And all my prayers goes out to this boy. I hope he does come out of this horrible predicament.
Makes sense to me. Picture the guy being jostled and losing his balance. The kid goes flying to one side, not down straight where the father could protect him, besides the dad probably was on the ground first. The kid would have fallen on people, slid down and been on the ground, probably feet or yards away from where the dad ended up.
@Bob - Bob has a good point. If the boy was on his father's shoulder then he wouldn't have been pushed and crush to the point of losing his breath and passing out. Its more likely that the father was pushed and crushed and his son lost his balance on his father's shoulder and fell onto the ground where he was crushed and passed out there. With the boy on the ground the father might not have been able to protect his son. But this part is unclear on exactly what happen. Its sad to hear that a 9th victim was announced today.
, "When my son went to the concert, he had my grandson on his shoulders. All the people pushed in and he could not breathe so he ended up passing out because of all the pressure that was being applied to his body. And when he passed out, Ezra fell off his shoulder and fell into the crowd." Bernon added that their family is "devastated because this was supposed to be a father-son outing for them to bond and it has turned into something horrible and tragic."
A Travis Scott concert is no place for a 9 year old . Sad for all involved but The performer is no more responsible for the injury than you or I . It’s the promoters security and the people that are responsible . Someone said TS should get stopped the show . You really think the mob mentality would have all just stopped their bad behavior ? It would have been way worse . Have you ever been up on a stage at a large venue . The guy on stages cant see or hear what’s being said or done out there .
I am 9 and if that was me I would be dead cause I’m fat and people make fount of me but I don’t care I’m so sorry for this boy and he was my friend to I’m shocked I saw him IRL I sat there and cried and president president of president president and president president of president president and president president of president president
9..shouldnt have been there in the first place..
hopefully that little boy will come out of his coma state god will be there