Astroworld Tragedy | Drake dismissed from Astroworld lawsuits due to “unawareness” of safety concerns

Canadian rapper Drake, real name Aubrey Drake Graham, has been dismissed from several lawsuits regarding the tragic Astroworld Festival event that took place in November 2021, the Associated Press has reported. 

The event saw 10 people die and hundreds injured after a crowd surge during the Houston leg of Travis Scott’s “Astroworld” tour, with Drake appearing as a special guest towards the end of Scott’s set. 

However, lawyers representing Drake have argued that the rapper had no prior knowledge of safety issues before taking to the stage to perform. “Mr Graham did not receive any security briefings, was not informed of any crowd control issues, injuries or deaths in the crowd, or any stop show orders at any time either before or during his 14-minute performance,” his attorney stated.

Drake took to Instagram shortly after the tragedy, writing “My heart is broken for the families and friends of those who lost their lives and for anyone who is suffering. I will continue to pray for all of them, and will be of service in any way I can, May God be with you all.”

While Drake’s involvement has been dismissed, Scott, alongside Apple who live-streamed the event and Live Nation, the promoters behind the tour, are still being targeted by multiple lawsuits. 

In recent days, documents obtained by Houston Landing demonstrated early concerns regarding the logistics of crowd control at the festival a mere 10 days before the event to place. Questions were raised over how 50,000 would be accommodated outside NRG Park, which holds at capacity 72,220 people. 

Court records also showed that a miscalculation by organisers led to too many tickets being sold for the event, with other factors cited in the lawsuits including overcrowding in certain areas with trees and other obstacles obscuring the view for many, leading to the surge when Scott took to the stage to get a better view of the rapper’s headline performance.