Travis Scott Has Already Been Arrested Twice For Inciting Violence And Injuries At Previous Concerts
One fan was left paralyzed in 2017.
hurricanehank / Shutterstock.com A tragedy unfolded over the weekend at Travis Scott’s own Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas, after a venue that was meant to hold 50,000 people quickly became overcrowded and caused a “crowd crush.”
The crowd crush, which occurred all around the audience, left over 300 people injured and at least 8 people dead — with some members of the audience still in the hospital in critical condition or recovering from their injuries.
After the devastating results of the show, social media quickly attacked Scott for his lack of action and empathy — continuing the show after acknowledging injuries and paramedics who rushed around the crowd in order to save lives.
But Travis Scott has a history of inciting violence, rage, and unsafe concert environments.
Scott’s entire persona and the theme of his concerts are raging and rioting against authorities, even resulting in his own arrest on multiple occasions.
While his song lyrics and content might not entirely reflect that, the upbeat tempos, loud beat drops, and aggressive delivery on his end lead to crowds going wild and forming mosh pits and moving and sometimes even storming barricades.
Why was Travis Scott arrested?
In 2015, Scott performed a show at Lollapalooza in Chicago that lasted only three songs before being cut short by security and concert organizers.
"The performer played one song and then began telling fans to come over the barricades,” said the Office of Emergency Management in a statement. “Due to the security's quick response, the situation was remedied immediately and no fans were injured. The performer fled the scene and was taken into custody a short while later. "
Scott was charged with disorderly conduct as a result but otherwise got off scot-free.
Of the 100,000 people in attendance, there were 85 hospital transports for the first day of the music festival — though, not just from Scott’s performance.
On May 13th, 2017, Scott was arrested once again after performing a show in Rogers, Arkansas, at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion.
Scott was charged with inciting a riot, disorderly conduct, and endangering the welfare of a minor after encouraging the crowd to rush the stage and bypass security protocols set up to ensure the safety of audience members.
According to the Rogers Police Department, several people were injured including a police officer and an employee of the security company.
The injuries were treated by members of the Rogers Fire Department and Mercy Medical without any resulting deaths.
A fan was left paralyzed after a Travis Scott concert in 2017.
At another show in April of the same year, fans were being pushed or even jumping from balconies at the Terminal 5 venue in New York City.
Scott was filmed encouraging a fan that was standing on the other side of the balcony railing to jump, saying “they’re going to catch you, don’t be scared.”
During the same concert, 27-year-old Kyle Green was reportedly pushed from the third-floor balcony and suffered permanent injuries.
According to the suit filed six months after the alleged incident, Green suffered several broken bones — including vertebrae — before being removed by staff "without a cervical collar, backboard, and other safety precautions."
The injury left Green paralyzed for a while, requiring him to use a wheelchair but he "can actually walk now, but with significant, significant disability. He's partially paralyzed still," according to his lawyers.
While Green’s lawsuit is still pending in the Manhattan Supreme Court, he gave a statement to Rolling Stone through his lawyer, Howard Hershenhorn.
"He's devastated and heartbroken for the families of those who were killed and for those individuals who were severely injured," Hershenhorn said.
Previous Astroworld Festivals ended in chaos.
Before the show this year, the 2020 show had been canceled due to the pandemic, but the 2019 show ended with injuries sustained by crowds as well.
On Nov. 9, 2019, three people were transported to the hospital after suffering leg injuries from being trampled in the chaos.
Fans stormed barricades before the show even officially started, sprinting and hurdles over obstacles in order to get close to the front to see Scott.
The 2019 show only had 47 police officers in attendance, while the show over the weekend had 528 officers present according to a press conference held on Saturday regarding the incident.
Scott’s no stranger to inciting violence and “rage” at his shows, but this was the worst possible outcome that could have occurred.
The rapper has sent multiple messages of apologies in the form of tweets and videos — all of which have been received negatively.
According to his apology, he has been working with the Houston police in order to help the families affected by the tragedy and will be issuing a refund to all those who were in attendance.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Follow him on Twitter here.