Eight people ranging in age from 14 to 27 were killed and dozens were injured at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival in Houston on Friday the 5th November, when fans were crushed against the stage and trampled to death. About 50,000 people were in the audience at NRG Park in Houston when the crowd started pushing towards the stage as Scott was performing, resulting in life-threatening chaos.
Like with all tragic events, misinformation and speculation are rife. Questions, conspiracy theories and rumours about one of the deadliest live music events in US history continue to circulate. Police are ongoingly investigating what led to these horrific circumstances, but here are the answers we have so far to the biggest questions surrounding Astroworld.
Did Travis Scott carry on performing?
Organisers of Astroworld are facing mounting questions about whether the rapper continued to perform after it was clear first responders were dealing with casualties, and why this was.
TikTok and Instagram are filled with personal statements and videos of the tragic event unfolding, which The Houston newspaper has used to form a timeline. According to them, people had begun to collapse and sustain serious injuries at 9.39 pm. Soon after that, the festival’s promoter decided to end the performance. Yet, Scott appeared to complete his set. The Houston reported that the rapper finished his set at 10.15 pm – a whole 36 minutes after the disaster was already apparent.
However, the Houston Chronicle reported that on Friday he stopped several times during his set when he spotted fans in distress, asking security to help.
Social media videos analysed by the Washington Post showed several attempts by individuals to raise the alarm and flag down help, but they were drowned out by Scott’s performance - showing that his carrying on playing added to the urgency.
In a tweet posted on Saturday, Scott said he was devastated by what took place and he vowed to work together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need.
In statements on Twitter and Instagram, he said police had his support as they ‘look into this tragic loss of life. He said he could ‘just not imagine the severity of the situation’ from the stage.
‘I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night,’ he said. ‘My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at the Astroworld festival. Anytime I can make out anything that’s going on, ya know, I stop the show and you know, help them get the help they need. I could just not imagine the severity of the situation.’
Travis Scott Apology Video:
Were concert staff ignoring pleas for help?
Footage in the Twitter video below also shows fans trying to get the show’s cameraman to stop the performance, but they are ignored.
Seanna Bailey, an attendee of the show, is captured on phone footage trying to signal for help. She posted a statement on Instagramabout her experience, saying people started to ‘drown’ and she begged for help but was ignored.
However, she posted afollow-up statement to say she does not blame the cameraman, and a person who is allegedly the cameraman’s wife messaged Bailey on Facebook to say the cameraman did call for help and is devastated about the events.
Were Kylie and Kendall escorted out early?
Rumours are circulating that both Kylie Jenner and Kendall Jenner were quickly escorted out by numerous bodyguards once the disturbing events unfolded, alluding to them - and possibly Travis - knowing about the problem earlier than suggested. An Astroworld attendee said that they watched Kylie and Kendall Jenner ‘walk past bodies after hiding in an enclosed area’ following the tragic stampede that resulted in injury and death.
But a representative for Kylie and Kendall denied the claims, telling The Sun: ‘Your story is egregious and absolutely false. Neither of the girls were nearby.’
Kylie insisted she and Kendall were not aware that people had died until after the news broke.
She wrote in a statement: "Travis and I are broken and devastated. My thoughts and prayers are with all who lost their lives, were injured or were affected in any way by yesterday’s events.
“I want to make it clear we weren’t aware of any fatalities until the news came out after the show and in no world would have continued filming or performing.”
Kylie, who attended the concert with Kendall and her and Scott’s daughter Stormi, said she sent her ‘deepest condolences' to all the families of those involved and will be praying for the healing of everyone who has been impacted.
She also expressed her concern for Travis, saying he cares deeply for his fans and the Houston community.
Kylie received a lot of backlash on Saturday after people flagged that an ambulance could be seen moving through the crowd on her Instagram story filming the show.
Kylie has removed the video, but it has been reposted by a Twitter user.
Were spiking injections happening at the show?
It’s unclear as yet whether spiking via injection was happening at a mass level during Astroworld, but one security guard is confirmed to have been injected in the neck at the festival. Last Saturday, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner confirmed that a security guard passed out after being attacked by a concert attendee and was injected in the neck with a needle. The guard had to be revived using the drug Narcan, commonly used for overdoses on opioids, including heroin.
Mr Finner said the police were aware of a ‘narrative’ that a concert-goer was injecting unsuspecting members of the audience with drugs. However, it’s not yet confirmed whether others had experienced this attack at Astroworld.
Why are people talking about the Illuminati and satanism?
Many believe Travis Scott is affiliated with the Illuminati, and that the concert was an act of satanism. ‘A concert in hell... Illuminati blood sacrifice type shit Travis Scott sacrificed so many lives tonight by not stopping that fucking show that shits demonic,’ one Twitter user posts.
Some are calling Scott evil for continuing the performance while people were losing lives comparing this to demonic behaviour. However, others genuinely believe the concert was some sort of sacrifice. Another Twitter user wrote ‘Travis Scott #astrofest was nothing more than an Illuminati sacrifice. Yall turn to the lord. We are living in a weird time of history.’
These theories are linked to Travis Scott’s branding and set design as much of Scott's promotional material is centred around demonic imagery, and Astroworld's stage, which was designed to look like the gates of hell.
These are nothing more than conspiracy theories and it’s extremely unlikely this concert was fatal by design, but there are reasons why people cling to conspiracy theories after huge traumatic events.
What about the Burning Dove?
Video captured by one Tik Tok user appears to show animated footage of a flaming bird on display at Astroworld at the start of Travis Scott's set. Although this was probably footage of a phoenix in the flames, some Twitter users have identified this as a burning dove. Despite the fact that there's no evidence that a burning dove is symbolic of anything significant, some users have claimed it has been used here as a symbol of satanism or of sacrifice for the illuminati. Again, this appears to be a tenuous conspiracy theory that has no bearing on what appeared to happen at the concert or why.
In a Twitter thread, Journalist Diyora Shadijanovacomments on the possibility of these conspiracies being a trauma reaction, saying ‘People would literally rather believe that Travis Scott performed a satanic ritual at Astroworld than look at the probable reason such a tragedy was enabled = profit > people. I do think this speaks of a wider disillusionment some people feel (QAnon, conspiracy theorists, pandemic deniers) when they can't rationalise how living in an economic system that prioritises profit over everything creates such horrifying situations.’
The concert was, of course, not part of a satanic sacrifice. But many have commented that lives were sacrificed for profit. And the show’s tragic events have been deemed to be both ‘predictable and avoidable’ by a concert attendee who is suing rappers Travis Scott and Drake (who headlined at the event).
23-year-old plaintiff Kristian Paredes was one of those severely injured at the concert. Another lawsuit was filed in the state court of Houston on behalf of a man injured in the crushed crowd.
Astroworld has the highest number of accidental deaths at an official US concert venue since the Station nightclub fire, which killed 100 in Rhode Island in 2003.