Travis Scott removed from Coachella 2022 lineup following deadly Astroworld festival that claimed lives of 10 concert goers and injured hundreds of others
There's more fallout for Travis Scott in the wake of the deadly crowd surge at his Astroworld Festival in Houston in November that resulted in 10 people being killed and hundreds more injured.
The rapper was dropped from the lineup for the upcoming 2022 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival, where he was slated to be among the headliners, according to Variety.
Criticized by some Astroworld attendees for not stopping his headlining concert sooner, news of his removal from the Coachella Festival comes on the heels of a Change.org petition that's lobbying for Scott's removal from all Goldenvoice performances.
Pulled: Travis Scott, 30, has been dropped from the upcoming lineup for the upcoming 2022 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival
Headline slot: Scott had been tapped to among the headlining artists for the upcoming Coachella Festival, which has been canceled since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
At last check on Friday night, the petition has already gathered nearly 60,000 signatures.
The news that Scott will no longer be a part of the Coachella 2022 line up was first reported by KESQ in Palm Springs, who attributed the decision, in part, to the city of Indio and the Community Services Manager Jim Curtis.
The online petition called on Coachella organizers Goldenvoice and Paul Tollett to remove the rapper from music festivals after his concert in Houston.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
So far, representatives for Scott, the Coachella festival and the city of Indio, California, where the event is held, have not confirmed the KESQ report.
First launched in 1999, Coachella is now considered the largest music festival in North America, with a capacity of 125,000. In comparison, Scott's Astroworld Festival had about 50,000 fans the night of the tragedy.
Gaining steam: The news of Scott's removal from the Coachella Festival comes on the heels of a Change.org petition that's lobbying for the rapper's removal from all Goldenvoice performances
Grand affair: The annual Coachella Festival in Indio, California can hold up to 125,000 fans
Scott, along with Rage Against the Machine and Frank Ocean were first announced as a Coachella headliners in January of 2020, but the festival has been postponed multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ocean has since decided to push back his performance to 2023, but RATM and Scott had still been penned in to be headliners until this recent development.
With Scott's slot at Coachella now open, festival organizers will have to fill two headlining sets for 2022, which is already sold out. Typically organizers like to announce lineups during the first days of the new year, so it's likely that will be the case again.
In a likely sign of more fallout, Scott's vanity hard seltzer brand, Cacti, will be pulled from shelves after Anheuser-Busch said it will no longer sell the product in the wake of the Astroworld scandal.
On hold: Travis Scott, seen here at the fatal Astroworld Festival disaster, will no longer be selling his hard seltzer line
Fallout: The Cacti brand Agave Spiked Seltzer is being discontinued by Anheuser-Busch, though Scott said he requested they stop selling it
'After careful evaluation, we have decided to stop all production and brand development of CACTI Agave Spiked Seltzer,' Anheuser-Busch said in a statement, explaining, 'We believe brand fans will understand and respect this decision.'
But a spokesperson for Scott refuted the statement and countered by stating that the cancelling of the alcohol-infused drink was the rapper's idea so that he can focus on more important matters following the deaths and injuries related to the stampede at his Astroworld concert in Houston on November 5.
'Travis was clear in his interview that he is not focused on business right now and his priority is helping his community and fans heal. CACTI asked AB InBev to inform their wholesalers there will not be product at this time,' his spokesperson told TMZ.
Scott has expressed remorse over tragedy, which he reiterated again when he sat down for an interview with Charlamagne Tha God on Thursday.
He maintained that he was not aware that serious injuries had occurred during his set on the first night of the festival until after his performance.
He's talking: The rapper Scott reiterated his remorse over the Astroworld stampede when he sat down for an interview with Charlamagne Tha God on Thursday
In the dark: The Houston native maintained that he was not aware that serious injuries had occurred until after his performance on the first night of his festival
His take: 'Things happen, you know, and it's just been such a time, and I'm just trying to just really figure things out,' Scott said when asked why he was speaking out after more than a month
During the conversation, Scott blamed his 'in-ear' person for not urging him to stop the show sooner, and claimed that he wasn't aware of the fatal stampede and crowd crush until after his performance.
The Houston, Texas native maintained he's '1000 percent' certain he did everything he could have to prevent the tragedy, and claims he didn't hear the screams and cries for help as the crowd went out of control.
'Things happen, you know, and it's just been such a time, and I'm just trying to just really figure things out,' he said when asked why he was breaking his silence.
In a fiery statement to DailyMail.com, the family of one of the victims killed at AstroWorld responded to the interview saying: 'Every time Travis Scott opens his mouth in an effort to avoid responsibility and accountability, he further exacerbates the pain of those that lost loved ones.'
'Because he won't voluntarily do so, we intend to force Travis Scott to accept responsibility for his conduct, in court, in front of a jury,' added the statement from the family of 21-year-old Axel Acosta, who died in the stampede.
Scott struggled to contain his emotions at times as he spoke about the families that lost loved ones on that fateful day.
Out of sight: The rapper's pregnant on/off girlfriend Kylie Jenner is yet to make an official public appearance since the tragedy 'They lost their loved ones, I just always wanna be there for them, I'm gonna fix this problem and make sure this doesn't happen in the future and be the number one voice for this. We gotta figure it out,' he said.
Scott said that he had been 'in a room' processing the tragedy, but Charlemagne pressed him on photos that emerged last month showing him carousing on a golf course with Michael Jordan and actor Mark Wahlberg.
'It was just Thanksgiving, you know, and they were there,' the rapper explained. 'That was more just like a personal time.'
Not to blame: Scott is refusing to take responsibility for the deadly stampede during his set
Deadly tragedy: 10 people were killed and hundreds more were injured during day one of Scott's Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas on November 5
Charlemagne also asked Scott whether his encouragement of 'raging' was to blame, referring to the concert culture similar to mosh pits.
'Raging just the experience of having fun,' Scott claimed, adding that raging was an inducement to 'help others and love each other.'
'What happened here isn't off Travis Scott music,' he said, adding that 'music is healing' and suggested that the tragedy might inspire future lyrics.
Scott claimed that he was only told that the show was going to end after the guest, referring to Drake, came on stage.
He said he was never told why the show was ending or what was occurring in the crowd. 'That's what came through my ear,' he said.
Scott blamed the media for pinning responsibility for the tragedy on him.
'Yeah, you know, the media, they want to put it on me, but at the end of the day I don't think it's more so about that, it's more so about stepping up to figure out what the problem is,' he said. 'Yeah, you know, I'm the face of the festival, I'm a artist, so yeah.'
Scott vowed that he was going to 'fix this for the future people' and 'be the number one voice for this.'
The rapper dismissed online rumors that his music and the AstroWorld concert had 'Satanic' imagery or connections, insisting that he is a 'man of God.'
'Evil is not what we're a part of. We're not trying to be a part of that, we're trying to be a part of joy,' he said.
Asked what he would do differently in future performances, Scot said: 'I'll do the same thing I've been doing just double, you know, making sure everybody is on post, and you know double down and make sure that everyone is locked in.'
Throughout the interview, Scott returned to the theme of vowing to ensure that similar tragedies do not occur in the future.
'I definitely wanna step in to figure out how can we fix this in the future. What can we do to change these things?' he reiterated.
Asked who bears ultimate responsibility for the AstroWorld disaster, Scott replied: 'It's crazy 'cause something tragic happened here, and what I've just been trying to get to the bottom of is what happened here, how it happened here, and I think the families are owned that, I feel like you know the community is owed that.'
'I feel like we're owed that to know just, like, what happened. And, you know, I don't wanna speak to soon, I just want to figure out, you know, what happened, you know.'
Scott's Astroworld Festival turned deadly on the first night of the festival, on November 5, during his set when the crowd of 50,000 people surged, resulting in a panic.
Hangin': Scott is seen far right at a table near a golf course last month. Mark Wahlberg is seen far left speaking with Corey Gamble, who is dating Kris Jenner, the mother of Scott's girlfriend Kylie Jenner
Out and about: Actor Said Taghmaoui is seen left with Travis Scott and right with Michael Jordan during a golf outing late last month
Ten people were killed, with ages ranging from nine to 27, while 25 more were hospitalized, and about 300 were treated at the scene, in connection with the incident.
A slew of lawsuits have been filed in the wake of the tragedy Astroworld that names Scott, guest performer Drake, promoter Live Nation and individuals affiliated with Houston's NRG Park and Scoremore Holdings as defendants.
One lawsuit alone, which was filed in mid-November, seeks $2 billion on behalf of 282 victims.
During the extensive interview, Scott denied that the wave of lawsuits he's now facing influenced his decision to speak publicly.
'It's not about that,' he said, adding, 'At the end of the day you're a human being.'
No comments: