HOUSTON — A lawsuit filed on behalf of 125 victims from the Astroworld Festival stampede is seeking $750 million in damages from headliner Travis Scott, Apple, Live Nation and others.
Houston attorney Tony Buzbee filed the lawsuit Monday on behalf of the clients, who included the family of Axel Acosta, the 21-year-old who was one of 10 fatalities at Scott’s annual festival, KHOU reported. Hundreds of others also were injured.
The suit also names Drake, who appeared as a guest performer, as a defendant, the Los Angeles Times reported. Other defendants include promoters Live Nation and ScoreMore Shows; security firms Contemporary Services Corp., Apex Security and Valle Security Texas; and ParaDocs, one of the firms hired to provide medical services at the festival.
In addition to Apple, which livestreamed the concert on its Apple Music platform, the suit names Scott’s record label, Epic; the Cactus Jack label, owned by Scott; and the Harris County Sports & Convention Corp., which operates NRG Park, the venue of the festival.
“When Axel collapsed, he was trampled by those fighting to prevent themselves from being crushed,” the suit alleges. “As he lay there under a mass of humanity, dying, the music played and streamed on -- for almost 40 minutes.”
“There has to be responsibility, especially those entities that stood to profit,” Buzbee told KHOU.
“I’m not shocked,” Meredith Duncan, a University of Houston Law Center professor, told the television station. “The judgments in these types of cases can be astronomical.”
The suit also accuses Scott, whose real name is Jacques Bermon Webster II, of keeping the concert going even after authorities had announced a mass casualty event, according to NBC News.
Scott’s litigation attorney, Edwin McPherson, has said Scott “didn’t know that there was a mass casualty event that was called.”
“Nobody told him. Nobody told his crew,” McPherson said. “When finally somebody communicated something to his crew that this was the last song, that was about 10:10, Travis said, ‘OK, last song,’ and he stopped it when he was told to stop it.”
Spokespersons for Epic Records and Apple did not immediately return requests for comment on the suit, the Times reported.
In a statement, Live Nation said, “We continue to support and assist local authorities in their ongoing investigation so that both the fans who attended and their families can get the answers they want and deserve, and we will address all legal matters at the appropriate time.”