Travis Scott Had a History of Encouring Fans to Rush the Stage

In an Instagram post after the Astroworld tragedy, Travis Scott lamented: "Can't imagine anything like this ever happening . . ."   Well, that certainly seems to be a lie. 

The controversial rapper has twice been convicted for encouraging fans to jump security barriers and rush the stage at previous concerts.  There are at least two prior incidents where crowds stampeded towards Scott at performances at Lollapalooza in Chicago in 2015 and at an outdoor venue in Arkansas in 2017. Both incidents resulted in misdemeanor convictions for Scott.  

According to witness accounts, a number of festival attendees at the Astroworld concert struggled to breathe as the crowd began to compress toward the stage during Scott's performance.  By the time Live Nation finally decided to end the performance, 23 people required hospitalization, 11 were in cardiac arrest, and more than 300 had to be treated at a field hospital on site.  During the concert, audience members repeatedly shouted, "Stop the show!" to no avail as people collapsed and got trampled on the festival floor.  Houston's police chief has revealed he visited Scott in his trailer to discuss crowd control just hours before he took to the stage.  Officials knew that fans of the rapper were raucous after the Astroworld Festival resulted in a stampede that sent three people to the hospital two years earlier.  Police Chief Troy Finner told the megastar that he was concerned about the crowd, according to the New York Times.

During the concert, Scott acknowledged several times that people in the crowd were in distress or passed out-- on one occasion, actually acknowledging that a fan needed an ambulance.   Scott halted the performance at least once, calling for security to help distressed fans in the front row.    Scott's girlfriend Kylie Jenner, who attended the event, was blasted online for callously posting a clip of an ambulance tending to the injured and dead as the chaos unfolded. 

A fan who was paralyzed after falling from a balcony during a Scott concert in 2017 has blasted the singer for putting fans' safety at risk.  Kyle Green, a 27-year-old who was injured at Scott's April 2017 concert at Terminal 5 in New York City, said he was forced over the edge of a balcony at the venue, which he called 'severely crowded.' He broke several bones and vertebrae and can only walk with a significant disability.  "He’s even more incensed by the fact that it could have been avoided had Travis learned his lesson in the past and changed his attitude about inciting people to behave in such a reckless manner," Green's lawyer told Rolling Stone magazine.  But Scott knew his reckless behavior was endangering his fans . . .

In August 2015, Scott pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of reckless conduct after his fans jumped a security barricade at the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago.  The Office of Emergency Management said at the time: 'The performer played one song and then began telling fans to come over the barricades. Due to the security's quick response, the situation was remedied immediately and no fans were injured.  The rapper fled the scene but was arrested shortly after, according to station WLS.

"All my real ragers jump the barricade right now. Let's go. Come over," he said at the 2015 show as his young fans obliged. "I want chaos.'" Hundreds were seen storming towards the stage, although there were no reports of anyone being injured.   

In February 2018, Scott pled guilty to disorderly conduct after he encouraged his fans to rush the stage and bypass security at a May 2017 concert at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in the city of Rogers.  Scott paid a 7,465.31 fine, according to KFSM.

The attorney representing some of the Astroworld victims said, 'There is no excuse for the events that unfolded at NRG stadium. There is every indication that the performers, organizers, and venue were not only aware of the hectic crowd but also that injuries and potential deaths may have occurred. Still, they decided to put profits over their attendees and allowed the deadly show to go on.  Live musical performances are meant to inspire catharsis, not tragedy. Many of these concert-goers were looking forward to this event for months, and they deserved a safe environment in which to have fun and enjoy the evening. Instead, their night was one of fear, injury, and death."