By KEN MILLER
A judge in Texas is set to hear arguments Monday in rap star Travis Scott’s request to be dismissed from a lawsuit over the deadly 2021 Astroworld festival in Houston.
Scott headlined the concert during which 10 people were killed as authorities and festival organizers responded to a massive crowd surge and tried to shut down the show.
Last week, the judge dismissed lawsuits against hip-hop guest performer Drake along with several other individuals and companies involved in the show.
Attorneys for Scott, whose real name is Jacques Bermon Webster II and is also known as “Cactus Jack,” write in the motion to dismiss that he is a performer and had no role in providing security or crowd management for the festival.
“Performers are not expected to render special protection to the audience, nor to safeguard them from the rest of the crowd,” the motion said. “Performing artists, even those who engage in certain promotional activities, have no inherent expertise or specialized knowledge in concert safety measures.”
The motion said Scott followed instructions and ended the show after a performance by Drake by performing one final song because it was feared that an abrupt ending could have led to riots, panic and chaos in the crowd.
“Thus, due care also required taking the time to end the show properly, so that the crowd would feel satisfied and leave peacefully,” according to the document.
After an investigation by Houston police, no charges were filed against Scott and a grand jury declined to indict him and five other people on any criminal counts related to the deadly concert.
Those killed, who ranged in age from 9 to 27, died from compression asphyxia, which an expert likened to being crushed by a car.
The first trial from the lawsuits is scheduled for May 6.
Some of the lawsuits filed by the families of the 10 who died and hundreds who were injured have been settled, including those filed by the families of four of the dead.