Petition Calls On Coachella To Cancel Travis Scott Performances In 2022
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – In the wake of the Astroworld tragedy, a petition is calling on Coachella organizers to remove rapper Travis Scott from the bill next year.
On Friday night, eight people, including two teenagers, were killed, and at least 25 more seriously injured, during a crowd surge at Scott's performance at the Astroworld Music Festival at NRG Park in Houston.
The 30-year-old Scott is scheduled to headline both weekends of the Coachella festival, scheduled for April 15-17 and April 22-24.
A petition calling on music events company Goldenvoice to pull Scott from Coachella has garnered more than 4,700 signatures as of Monday morning.
Variety also confirmed that Scott has pulled out of this upcoming weekend's Day N Vegas festival, also organized by Goldenvoice. He was slated to perform Saturday night.
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Meanwhile, Houston city officials said they were in the early stages of investigating what caused the pandemonium at the sold-out Astroworld festival, an event founded by Scott. About 50,000 people were there, the first night of the two-day festival. The deceased victims ranged in age from 14 to 27. Thirteen people remained hospitalized as of Sunday. Over 300 people were treated at a field hospital at the concert on Friday.
Scott has faced criminal charges in the past for inciting crowds for shows at Lollapalooza in 2015, and at a 2017 music festival in Arkansas.
Houston police and fire department officials said their investigation will include reviewing video taken by concert promoter Live Nation, as well as dozens of clips from people at the show.
Officials also planned to review the event's security plan and various permits issued to organizers to see whether they were properly followed. In addition, investigators planned to speak with Live Nation representatives, Scott and concertgoers.
On video posted to social media, Scott could be seen stopping the concert at one point and asking for aid for someone in the audience: "Security, somebody help real quick."
Following the concert, Scott released a statement reading in part, "I'm absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival."
There is a long history of similar catastrophes at concerts, sporting events and even religious events. In 1979, 11 people were killed as thousands of fans tried to get into Cincinnati's Riverfront Coliseum to see a concert by The Who. Other past crowd catastrophes include the deaths of 97 people at a soccer match in Hillsborough Stadium in 1989 in Sheffield, England, and numerous disasters connected with the annual hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
