The tragedy that occurred at Travis Scott’s 2021 Astroworld Festival has already received its first lawsuit. According to Billboard. Manuel Souza, who was injured in the deadly incident, filed a petition in Harris County District Court on Saturday. Travis himself and Astroworld Festival organizers ScoreMore and Live Nation are named in the suit concerning the occurrence, which left eight dead and hundreds injured. The suit says the tragedy came as a result of “a motivation for profit at the expense of concertgoers’ health and safety” and the “encouragement of violence.”
“Defendants failed to properly plan and conduct the concert in a safe manner,” Souza’s attorney Steve Kherkher wrote in the lawsuit. “Instead, they consciously ignored the extreme risks of harm to concertgoers, and, in some cases actively encouraged and fomented dangerous behaviors.” Souza claims that Travis and festival organizers ignored early warning signs, like attendees who “breached a security gate around the park, stampeded into the premises, and trampled over one another.” He adds that organizers “made the conscious decision to let the show go on, despite the extreme risk of harm to concertgoers that was escalating by the moment.”
“Eventually, due to defendants’ active decision to let the show go on, the scene devolved into a complete melee, resulting in the needless, untimely death of at least 8 people and injuries to scores of others,” Souza’s attorney wrote.
The lawsuit accuses Travis and organizers of both negligence and gross negligence and seeks at least $1 million in damages. Souza’s attorneys also named Travis’ Cactus Jack Records, LLC, and many other individuals and companies that were involved in the event. A restraining order preventing any destruction of evidence was also filed and it could wind up heading for court as soon as Monday.
