Travis Scott, whose Astroworld Festival in Houston last month resulted in the deaths of 10 audience members in a crowd crush, says he was unaware of the dangerous situation as he performed on stage, and that he relied on “the professionals” for concert safety.
In an hourlong interview with Charlamagne tha God – watch it above – Scott says he wasn’t told by stage managers in his in-ear headset to immediately end the show. Rather, he was told, he says, to stop the show “after the guest” Drake finished his appearance.
Scott repeatedly sidesteps the question of responsibility, saying instead that he feels responsible “to fix this in the future,” and that promotors such as Live Nation also must work toward a solution. At several points he notes that artists rely on “professionals” to handle issues of safety and crowd control.
“As artists, you trust professionals for when things happen that people can leave safely,” Scott says. “This night was just like a regular show, it felt like to me, as far as the energy…People just showed up to have a good time and something unfortunate happened and we just need to figure out what that was.”
Asked what he’d say to the families of those who died at the concert, Scott says, “I’m in this with you guys and I love you,” adding, “I just always wanna be there for them. I’m going to fix this for the future people and fix this solution…to make sure this doesn’t happen in the future.”
Scott seems to dismiss the notion that “raging” concert events encourage violence or dangerous situations, the rapper describes the rage experience as “having fun…to help others, you know, love each other. It’s not about harm.”
Scott had previously addressed the tragedy in an Instagram message last month. More than 140 lawsuits have been filed in the matter, including suits against Scott, Drake and Live Nation.
Towards the end of the interview with Charlamagne, Scott says he never intended to hurt anyone in his audience. “I do this for people to have a good time,” he says, adding later, “I wanted them to have a good experience, when my fans came to see me it’s a connection.”
Watch the video interview above.