Cries for help rang across the highly anticipated Astroworld festival on November 5th in Houston, Texas when tragedy struck. Fifty thousand attendees hoped to watch their favorite artists perform, not witness the traumatizing deaths of nine individuals with many more injured. The person behind all this madness is Travis Scott- a rapper who transformed into a killer overnight. 

During Scott’s performance, crowd members surged to the stage, seemingly out of control and wrecking havoc. TK Tellez was one of the many victims who experienced the barbaric rage, reporting to CNN that “the crowd became tighter and tighter.” People struggled to breathe amidst the overwhelming mob, which was how some suffered cardiac arrest. While the crowd begged and pleaded for the show to stop, to save the people who were unable to escape the dire situation, Scott continued his set. Videos were released on social media, illustrating the horrific nightmare which unfolded. One disturbing video however, shows an unconscious fan passed out near the stage as Scott proceeds to keep on singing.

Now, Scott from his vantage point, not only can see those battling to jump over the gate to seek safety, but also hears desperate cries for help, and happens to ignore it all? To add more fuel to the fire, Scott’s apology video lacks a proper response as he appears disingenuous, taking such a serious matter to a temporary Instagram story. The fact that he prioritizes his show over the lives of his fans emphasizes how selfish he truly is. The lack of judgement from the reckless artist and his team, assuming that a “cage” and a few security guards would be enough to manage fifty-thousand people raises copious concerns for the future safety of festivals. 

There should have been better control of the crowd, and not as many people contained in one single space. Barriers should have been available to separate individuals in order to prevent violent repercussions. This unfortunate event reinforces how ignorant and naive it is to ignore protocols which are necessary to follow and meant to protect attendees.