A number of Astroworld attendees filed lawsuits against co-founder and headliner Travis Scott (and other people and groups involved) after the deadly crowd surge incident at the festival a few weeks ago, but now a significantly larger and more dramatic legal action is being taken. According to Rolling Stone, a new lawsuit has been filed against Scott, fellow performer Drake, organizer Live Nation, and Apple on behalf 282 plaintiffs “linked to the Astroworld tragedy,” and they’re looking for $2 billion in damages.
The Astroworld stampede recently claimed its ninth and 10th victims after two more people—one a nine-year-old child—died from the injuries they sustained at the event earlier this month. This lawsuit says that the organizers all stood to make an “exorbitant amount of money” off of Astroworld, and yet they “still chose to cut corners, cut costs, and put attendees at risk.” By asking for $2 billion in damages, the plaintiffs intend to “send the message to all performers, event organizers, and promoters that what happened at Astroworld cannot happen again.”
Apple getting named here is a relatively new wrinkle to all of this, with this suit accusing the company of compromising concertgoer safety through its “multimillion dollar purchase, promotion, and implementation of its exclusively online streaming rights” of Astroworld. The suit accuses Apple’s cameras, camera stands, and the metal barriers surrounding them of limiting the “means of exit” for a lot of people by splitting the venue “both horizontally and vertically.”
A second lawsuit representing 125 plaintiffs was filed earlier this week, asking for $750 million in damages. The lawyer in that case, Tony Buzbee, expects that the various suits will be “consolidated in a single courtroom in Houston” (where Astroworld was held), maybe “in the next 60 days.” That means there could be some movement on this relatively soon.