Travis Scott sued after crowd surge tragedy – with lawsuit for $1m filed
At least one lawsuit has been filed over the fatal crowd surge at a concert by rapper Travis Scott, with more expected in the coming days.
Manuel Souza suffered “serious bodily injuries” in the tragedy at the Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas, according to a petition seen by the Reuters and Associated Press news agencies.
Eight people aged between 14 and 27 were killed in the crush and hundreds more from a crowd of about 50,000 were injured. Scott has said he has been left “absolutely devastated” by the incident.
Around 50,000 people were at the festival. Pic: Twitter @ONACASELLA /via REUTERS
Investigators are expected to examine the design of safety barriers and the use of crowd control in determining what led to the surge at the sold-out festival, which was founded by Scott.
Mr Souza is seeking at least $1m (about £741,000) in damages from defendants including Scott and show organisers Live Nation, according to a lawsuit filed in Harris County District Court, Reuters reports.
Another man named Kristian Paredes has also filed a lawsuit against Scott, Live Nation and Canadian rapper Drake, who made a guest appearance at the concert, according to US media.
The tragedy unfolded after some of the crowd at the show are said to have pushed toward the stage at NRG Park, as a timer clicked down to the start of Grammy-nominated Scott’s show.
Among the victims were high school pupil Brianna Rodriguez, 16; medical assistant Rudy Pena, 23; student Franco Patino and his friend Jacob Jurinek, both 21; and Danish Baig, 27, who was reportedly injured as he tried to help his fiancée.
Brianna was described as “beautiful” and “vibrant” by her family on a crowdfunding page to raise money for her funeral, while Rudy was the “calmest, most playful and most sweetest with everyone”, his brother-in-law, Sergio Gonzales, told People.com.
Brianna Rodriguez, 16, was among the victims
Rudy Pena, 23, the youngest of five siblings, attended the show with his friends
Both Jacob and Franco were described in tributes on social media as two of the “nicest” and “kindest” people.
In a post written by Danish’s brother Basil on Facebook, he was described as “a beautiful soul whose smile would light up the room and put everyone before himself”.
Axel Acosta, 21, was also among the victims killed in the tragedy, his father, Edgar Acosta, told US media.
He was a computer science major at Western Washington University, which released a statement paying tribute: “By all accounts, Axel was a young man with a vibrant future. We are sending our condolences to his family on this very sad day.”
Franco Patino, 21, a student at the University of Dayton in Ohio, was described as an ‘amazing person’
Jacob Jurinek had saved up to attend the festival
Families of the victims have demanded justice as a criminal investigation is now under way, with Houston mayor Sylvester Turner calling the disaster a “tragedy on many different levels”.
Thirteen people remained in hospital on Sunday. Details of their conditions have not been released.
A security officer was also left unconscious after apparently being injected in the neck by a concert-goer. Houston city police chief Troy Finner said his department had opened a criminal investigation by homicide and narcotics detectives, following reports that somebody in the audience had been injecting people with drugs.
Houston police and fire department officials have said their investigation will include reviewing video taken by concert promoter Live Nation, as well as dozens of clips from people at the show.
Scott is expecting his second child with partner Kylie Jenner. Pic: ESBP/STAR MAX/IPx
Officials also looked to review the event’s security plan and various permits issued to organisers to see whether they were properly followed. In addition, investigators planned to speak with Live Nation representatives, Scott and concert-goers.
Scott, who founded the festival, said he was “devastated” following the deaths, and was working to help the families of “the ones that was lost” as well as giving his “total support” to police.
The 29-year-old star is known for his high-energy performances in which music fans are encouraged to stage dive and crowd-surf.
He stopped multiple times during his set after spotting fans in distress near the front of the stage, and asked security to help people out of the crowd.
His partner Kylie Jenner, with whom he is expecting his second child, said after the tragedy that they had been left “broken and devastated”, and offered her “deepest condolences” to the families of those affected.
Sky News has contacted representatives for Scott and Live Nation for comment. A spokesperson for Drake declined to comment on the lawsuit reports.
Tupac Shakur’s estate has threatened to sue Drake and ordered him to delete a track featuring an AI-generated copy of the late rapper’s voice.
Drake released the song Taylor Made Freestyle – a diss track aimed at Kendrick Lamar – on his Instagram page on Friday, which features verses created by AI software mimicking both Shakur and Snoop Dogg.
In a cease-and-desist letter seen by Sky News’ US partner NBC News, Howard King, an attorney who represents Shakur’s estate, requested that Drake remove the track from all platforms where it is publicly available.
The letter sent on Wednesday states the Canadian rapper has until midday on Thursday to confirm he will remove it or the estate will “pursue all of its legal remedies” against him.
“Not only is the record a flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights, it is also a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time,” Mr King wrote.
“The estate would never have given its approval for this use.”
The letter also outlines the estate’s “dismay” regarding the topic of the track, saying Lamar is “a good friend to the estate who has given nothing but respect to Tupac and his legacy publicly and privately” and that this “compounds the insult”.
In the track, the AI-generated voice of Shakur urges Lamar to respond to Drake’s previous diss track about him released several days prior, saying lines like: “Kendrick, we need ya, the West Coast saviour / You seem a little nervous about all the publicity / You asked for the smoke, now it seem you too busy for the smoke.”
Tupac was killed in 1996. Pic: Walik Goshorn/MediaPunch/IPx/AP
The letter claims the track and its popularity have created the “false impression that the estate and Tupac promote or endorse the lyrics for the sound-alike”.
Shakur’s estate is also seeking damages including all profits from the record, which has so far only been posted on Drake’s Instagram page, as well as additional damages for substantial economic and reputational harm caused.
Read more:
Musicians react to AI songs flooding the internet
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The letter claimed Drake’s non-consensual use of Shakur’s likeness violates Shakur’s right to publicity, an intellectual property right protecting against the misappropriation of somebody’s name or image.
Sky News has contacted representatives of Drake for comment.
The AI-generated voice of prominent rapper Snoop Dogg was also used on the track.
Snoop Dogg posted a video on his Instagram story shortly after the diss track was posted, where he said: “They did what? When? How… What’s going on… I’m going back to bed.”
The use of AI in the music industry has been the subject of heavy debate since last year, when Drake’s own voice was cloned alongside The Weeknd by the artist known as Ghostwriter.
The track was taken down from all platforms shorty after it was released in April.
Richard Gadd has urged fans of his hit show Baby Reindeer to stop speculating about who the characters in his show are based on in real life.
The Netflix series is based on the real-life story of its writer Gadd, who also plays the lead character, and his warped relationship with a female stalker.
Fans have been speculating online about the identity of the stalker played by Jessica Gunning in real life (spoiler warning), as well as who another character, seen sexually assaulting Gadd in the series, is based on.
The character, played by Tom Goodman-Hill, is a TV writer who repeatedly sexually assaults Gadd’s character and supplies him with drugs.
Gadd addressed his fans on his Instagram story on Tuesday, saying: “People I love, have worked with, and admire… are unfairly getting caught up in speculation.
“Please don’t speculate on who any of the real-life people could be. That’s not the point of our show. Lots of love, Richard.”
Read more on Sky News:
Richard Osman reveals Thursday Murder Club cast
Police launch manhunt for Home and Away star
Pic: Netflix
The show is based on the hit Edinburgh Fringe one-man stage play Gadd performed in 2019.
Gadd, who plays Donny Dunn, a character based on himself, said he didn’t expect the show to “blow up” in the way it has since its release on 11 April.
“I’m super proud of it. I really believed in this show, but the fact it’s gone so stratospheric so quickly, for such a cult, quite niche story… it’s kind of amazing. It’s clearly struck a chord,” he said on This Morning.
The writer, actor and comedian is also an ambassador for We Are Survivors, a charity which supports male survivors of sexual abuse.
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