A Texas grand jury has finally ruled to not indict Travis Scott for any criminal charges related to the Astroworld Festival that took place at NRG Park in 2021.
Since 2018, with the release of his Astroworld album, Travis Scott began hosting the Astroworld Festival. Less than 2 years ago at the festival in 2021, when Scott came on stage for his headline performance, the crowds went wild and began to push forward as a tidal wave. It was clear that Scott nor the event staff had any control of the crowd ensuing; footage from the festival was shared on social media displaying fans begging distracted cameramen to stop the show. The stampede ultimately led to the death of 10 fans and the injuring of numerous more.
Scott’s lawyer, Kent Schaffer, spoke to reporters after the grand jury ruled not to indict him on any charges. He told reporters that “Travis is not responsible . . . [he] never encouraged people to do anything that resulted in other people being hurt.”
After the show’s disaster in 2021, many spoke out in protest of Scott and Live Nation, claiming that they follow unsafe practices. Over 500 lawsuits were filed within days of the festival disaster. Scott’s legal team put their best efforts forward to dismiss and settle as many lawsuits as they could while publicly apologizing for the outcomes of the festival. Travis Scott also had a partnership deal with Nike lined up that got put on hold while he was dealing with backlash from the festival.
Nearly a year after Astroworld Festival 2021, Travis Scott announced that he would be performing at a music festival, he had officially partnered with Nike, and he started a new philanthropic endeavor. Scott’s Project HEAL aims to advocate for students, artists, music fans and more with $1 million going toward scholarships and another $4 million to expand the Cactus Jack Foundation creative design program & create a free mental health program for children.
Since the disaster occurred, Scott has certainly tried to put his best foot forward in giving back to the community. While the Texas grand jury is choosing to not indict Scott, there are still a number of lawsuits related to the festival disaster that have yet to be resolved. Only time will tell if any of the lawsuits will stick and the impact they will have on Scott and his career.