Apple has been named in a $750 million lawsuit in connection to Travis Scott’s Astroworld concert, along with Travis Scott, Drake, Live Nation, and others. The case is filed in Houston by 125 fans including the family of the 21-year-old Axel Acosta who died at the festival through Tony Buzbee, a Texas attorney.
As per the filing, on November 5, 2021, rapper Travis Scott began his performance at the Astroworld concert at 9:00 p.m., and shortly after reports of people experiencing difficulty in breathing and suffering crush injuries started to pour in. And by 9:38 p.m. the event was declared a “mass-casualty event” by the Houston Police. Sadly, the management did not stop Scott’s performance which continued on for another 40 minutes, along with a song with Drake. 8 people have reportedly died and several suffered injuries.
Prior to Scott’s performance, major security and management lapses were witnessed throughout the day like mobs of concert attendees breaching checkpoints, ignoring COVID-19 screenings stations, pushing through 10-foot high fences, and more. Therefore, the parents of Axel Acosta (the lead plaintiffs) are claiming the wrongful death of their young son who was “crushed by the incited, unruly and out-of-control crowd with such force that he could no longer breathe.”
Apple sued for putting “profits over people” at the tragic Travis Scott concert
Apple Music streamed the tragic fatal event till the end, and for the attorney, Buzbee holds the company accountable and accuses it of prioritizing “profit over people”. Dismayed by the loss of innocent lives, Buzbee said that people were dying while the music was played and streaming continues. According to Rolling Stones, Buzbee said:
“When people say, ‘Tony, How can you sue Apple TV, the record labels, and these other peripheral entities?’ Well I would suggest they threw in with this. They were promoting this, encouraging this and profiting from this,” he said. “It’s profits over people. And if the show doesn’t go on, people don’t get paid.
He said no one was “incentivized to stop this show,” from the permitting process through the final song performed onstage, because so much money was at stake.
“I guarantee you, had the crowd attacked the stage or interfered with the performers themselves, oh my goodness, they would have called in every police officer within a hundred miles. But as long as the performers weren’t in any kind of jeopardy, who gives a shit about the people in the crowd, I guess, was the attitude. And it can’t be like that,” he said.
Apple might also be implicated in several other Astroworld lawsuits filed at Harris County District Court in Texas, including the lawsuit by the father of a 9-year old Ezra Blount who went into a coma because of trampling at the concert and unfortunately died later. Viewers’ discretion is advised when watching the following video, it contains disturbing content.
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