Travis Scott’s lawyers ask to dismiss lawsuit over deaths at Astroworld festival

A Texas judge will hear arguments Monday on rap star Travis Scott’s request to dismiss a lawsuit over the deadly 2021 Astroworld festival in Houston.

Scott headlined the festival where 10 people died when authorities and organizers responded to a stampede and tried to shut down the show.

Last week, the judge dismissed lawsuits against guest artist Drake along with other people and companies involved in the festival.

Lawyers for Scott, whose real name is Jacques Bermon Webster II and is also known as “Cactus Jack,” wrote in the motion to dismiss that he is an entertainer and had no role in security or crowd management for the festival.

“Performers are not expected to provide special protection to the audience, nor are they expected to protect them from the rest of the crowd,” the motion says. “Performers, even those participating in certain promotional activities, have no inherent experience or specialized knowledge in concert safety measures.”

The motion says Scott followed instructions and ended the show after inviting Drake to perform one last song because it was feared that an abrupt end to the concert could cause riots, panic and chaos in the crowd.

“Therefore, due care also required taking the time to finish the show properly, so that the crowd would feel satisfied and leave in peace,” according to the document.

Following an investigation by Houston police, no charges were filed against Scott and a jury declined to indict him and five others on criminal charges related to the deadly concert.

The deceased, whose ages ranged from 9 to 27, died from compression asphyxiation, which one expert compared to being crushed by a car.

The first trial of the lawsuits is scheduled for May 6.

Some of the lawsuits filed by the families of the 10 dead and hundreds of injured have been resolved, including those filed by the families of four of the dead.