In the wake of the tragedy at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival that left nine people confirmed dead and dozens of others injured, the Houston rapper has a new spokesperson in former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
During an appearance on CBS Mornings Friday, Rawlings-Blake told Gayle King that the idea that Scott had authority to stop the concert is “ludicrous.”
“This notion that Travis had the ability to stop the concert is ludicrous,” she said. “They have a 59-page operations plan, and it clearly says the only two people that have the authority to stop the concert were the executive producer and the concert producer. He was not responsible for this, but he wants to be responsible for the solution, and I’m here to make sure that we can connect the dots.”
Rawlings-Blake went on to acknowledge previous reports that Travis was not aware of the fatalities until after he arrived at Drake’s Dave & Buster’s after party in Houston.
“They were trying to figure out what was going on,” she explained. “It was hours and hours after the concert when they actually found out the tragedy, how the tragedy unfolded.”
Rawlings-Blake added, “He has not stopped grieving for these families. He knows that he is who he is because of his fans. His love for his fans is so deep.”
The former mayor’s remarks arrive just a few days after the chief of the Houston Fire Department toldToday that Scott “absolutely” should have stopped his performance.
Samuel Peña, who previously addressed the Astroworld deaths during a press conference over the weekend, was asked whether he believed Scott “should have called an end to the concert” once he noticed what was going on.
“Look, absolutely,” he responded. “We all have a responsibility. Everybody at that event has a responsibility starting from the artist on down.”
Peña continued, “The artist has command of that crowd. In my opinion, and this is my opinion right now because everything is gonna be fleshed out throughout this investigation, but certainly the artist—if he notices something that’s going on—he can certainly pause that performance, turn on the lights, and say ‘Hey, we’re not gonna continue until this thing is resolved.’”
