Travis Scott says he didn’t know of fan injuries until after his Astroworld set

Travis Scott has revealed that it was only until after his Astroworld headline set that he learnt of injuries among its attendees.

The rapper, who has filed requests to dismiss multiple lawsuits following the November 5 tragedy that left 10 people dead from a crowd crush, has given his first interview since the incident.

Scott told Charlamagne tha God in an interview spanning nearly an hour in length that he was oblivious to the dangers unfolding, adding that it’s his “responsibility to figure out what happened”.

“I didn’t know the exact details until minutes before the press conference [after my set],” he told Charlamagne. “And even at that moment you’re like, ‘Wait, what?’ [quotes via Variety].

“People pass out, things happen at concerts, but something like that…” he continued before trailing off.

Scott also denied hearing or seeing any distress signals from the crowd that would have prompted him to cut the show for an emergency.

“It’s so crazy because I’m that artist too – anytime you can hear something like that, you want to stop the show,” he said. “You want to make sure fans get the proper attention they need. Anytime 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 that.

“You can only help what you can see and whatever you’re told, whenever they tell you to stop, you stop,” he said.

He added: “Fans come to the show to have a good experience and I have a responsibility to figure out what happened here. I have a responsibility to figure out a solution.

“And hopefully this takes a first step into us as artists, for us as artists having an insight into what is going on and the professionals to surround and figure out more intel, whether it’s tech, whether it’s more of a response, whatever the problem is and in the future move forward with concert safety and make sure it never happens again.”

Charlamagne also asked Scott if the “raging” culture that the rapper’s shows are known for could have contributed to a volatile, physically stressed atmosphere.

“That’s something I’ve been working on for a while, is creating these experiences and trying to show these experiences are happening in a safe environment,” Scott answered.

“Us as artists, we trust professionals for when things happen that people can leave safely. And this night was just like a regular show, it felt like to me, as far as the energy. It didn’t feel like, you know…people didn’t show up there just to be harmful. People just showed up to have a good time and then something unfortunate happened and I think we really just got to figure out what that was.

“‘Raging’…there’s not a textbook definition,” he continued. “But in concerts we’ve grown it to be just the experience of fun. It’s not about just…harm. It’s not about that. It’s about letting go and having fun, help others and love each other.”

Meanwhile, Scott has denied all allegations filed against him in the wake of the tragedy.

People reported that the rapper and his company, Cactus Jack Records, “generally deny the allegations” and “respectfully request that the claims against these Defendants be dismissed with prejudice”.

Astroworld’s promoters, Live Nation and its subsidiary ScoreMore, have also denied all allegations against them. The volume of lawsuits has led to attorneys on both sides agreeing to consolidate the filings into one case. 

Ten people died as a result of the crush, eight of whom passed away on the night and two who died in hospital in the days afterwards. 25 people were admitted to hospital and over 300 people were treated for injuries at the festival.