Travis Scott: I Saw, Heard Nothing at Astroworld

Rapper says he was unaware of tragedy until after concert
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 10, 2021 3:13 AM CST
Travis Scott Gives First Interview Since Astroworld
Travis Scott performs at the Astroworld Music Festival in Houston on Nov. 5, 2021. Scott said he didn't know that fans had died at his Astroworld festival until after his performance ended.   (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)

In his first interview since the deaths of 10 people at Astroworld, Travis Scott continued to insist he had no idea of the horror that was unfolding in the audience as he performed. "Any time you can hear something like that, you want to stop the show,” he said in a sit-down with Charlamagne tha God released Thursday. “You want to make sure fans get the proper attention they need. Any time I could see anything like that, I did. I stopped it a couple times to just make sure everybody was OK. And I really just go off the fans’ energy as a collective—call and response. I just didn’t hear” any calls for help. He said he also didn't see any signs of distress, due to his position on the stage and the lights, among other factors, the Washington Post reports.

Charlamagne pointed out some have decried Scott's music as "demonic" and have blamed him for inciting fans to violence. Asked point-blank if he thought his music was to blame for the tragedy, Scott replied that he's a "man of God" and that while there will always "be an outside opinion, but for the ones that really believe in me and understand what I’m about and what I’m doing … I always preach love, I always preach understanding.”

He also rejected the idea that he encourages fans to be violent, but rather simply "pumped up." The interview angered the family of victim Axel Acosta; per TMZ, their lawyer released a statement saying "everything that Travis Scott has done or said since 10 people died and hundreds of others were injured at his concert has been lawyer driven and calculated to shift blame from him to someone else." (More Astroworld stories.)

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