INTERVIEW
Travis Scott is opening up about his Nov. 5 Astroworld festival that left 10 dead and many more injured. The rapper sat down with Charlamagne tha God for a nearly one-hour interview posted to YouTube on Thursday (Dec. 9).
The artist, who was subdued throughout the interview, began by sharing that he’s been on an “emotional rollercoaster,” and hoped for the sit-down to be a way for him to communicate with fans and their families. “I went through something, fans went through something, people’s parents went through something,” he said. “It really hurts, it hurts a community, it hurts a city. It’s just been a lot of thoughts, a lot of feelings, a lot of grieving, you know just trying to wrap my head around it.”
On several instances, Scott discussed the topic of safety, insisting that he’s intent on figuring out what happened at Astroworld — which is currently facing numerous lawsuits — so that he can help prevent such tragedies at future events. When The Breakfast Club host pressed him on criticisms of poor planning and being understaffed, and asked several times who should be responsible for the safety of attendees, the rapper indicated “professionals.”
“As an artist, you just do the creative. And this to be my festival, I got to bring artists, creatively produce it. We just trust the professionals to make sure that people are taken care of and leaving safely,” the “Franchise” rapper said at one point. “I just can control what I can on the stage, and you know have the professionals control what they can in the crowd. As an artist it’s hard because you want to have the best shows and you want to have the best experiences, you link with professionals to handle that side of it. You want to know what’s going on and I think that’s what we got to figure out, figure out what happened, how’d it happen.”
“Fans come to have a good experience. I have a responsibility to figure out what happened here,” he said later. “I have a responsibility to figure out a solution. Hopefully this takes a first step into us as artists having more insight of what’s going on.” Scott suggested that perhaps technology such as bracelets could be used to monitor attendees’ health.
When Charlamagne later specifically asked who he thinks is responsible for what happened, Scott seemed to say that it shouldn’t all rest on his shoulders. “Something tragic happened here. What I’ve just been trying to get to the bottom of is what happened here and how it happened. I think the families are owed that. I think the community is owed that to know what happened here. I don’t want to speak too soon, I just want to figure out what happened,” he said. “As artists, we just leave this to you know the professionals to make sure that fans are having a good time, that people are protected, leave and have the best experience ever.”
The rapper also discussed the timeline, saying that he didn’t know his event had become deadly until immediately before the press conference. “Even after the show, you’re just kinda hearing things, but I didn’t know the exact details until minutes before the press conference,” he said, later noting that he never heard the screams for help during the show. “And even at that moment, you’re just like, ‘What?’ You know, people pass out at concerts, but something like that?”
He also had a message for the families who lost loved ones. “They lost their loved ones. It’s tough,” he said, pausing to regain control of his emotions. “I just want to always just be there for them and just always be able to know that I’m gonna fix this for the future people and fix this problem, and find a solution and make sure this doesn’t happen in the future and be a No. 1 voice for this. I feel like that’s what we got figure out.”
Since the tragedy, Scott has offered to pay for funerals of those who died at the festival, but several families have rejected his offer. The artist told Charlamagne he understands their decision. “They’re grieving and trying to find understanding. They want answers,” he said. “I’m always going to be here to want to help them. I just got to continue to show up for that. I just want to make sure that they knew I was there and continue to be there for them.”
Continuing on the emotional topic of the impact to the victims’ families, the radio host also asked how Scott would feel if they never forgive him, and whether he’d be able to live with himself. “Nah, it’s tough. I want them to really know that my intentions wasn’t to harm their family at all, it was for them to have a good experience,” he shared. “I would love to instead of understanding, for them to truly know where my heart’s from. It didn’t come for them for me to harm, and it wasn’t about a show to keep at all. It’s about for them to have a really good time, and it’s just tragic that it didn’t turn out that way.”
Watch the full interview above:
