Travis Scott’s offer to cover the funeral expenses of several Astroworld victims was rejected by their families
Some of the victims’ families have turned down Travis Scott’s offer to pay for their funeral expenses following his performance at the Astroworld music festival.
When the crowds surged toward the stage, Treston Blount was carrying his 9-year-old son Ezra on his shoulders. Blount collapsed, and his son was knocked down. In the aftermath of the concert crush, Ezra, who suffered brain, kidney, and liver trauma, was put into a medically-induced coma and died.
A total of 10 people died after being injured in the crowd. He was the youngest of them all.
The Blount family’s attorney, Bob Hilliard, said in an email to Scott’s attorney, dated Nov. 24 and reviewed by NBC News on Tuesday, that the Blount family rejected Scott’s offer to pay for all of the victims’ funerals.
If Scott is truly sorry for what happened to Ezra, then Hilliard believes that Scott must also acknowledge his own part in the tragedy by “must face and hopefully see that he bears some of the responsibility for this tragedy.”
“There may be, and I hope there is, redemption and growth for him on the other side of what this painful process will be — and perhaps one day, once time allows some healing for the victims and acceptance of responsibility by Mr. Scott and others, Treston and Mr. Scott might meet — as there is also healing in that,” Hilliard wrote. “For now, Mr. Scott must respect the fact that his pain and his devastation pale to Treston’s, Ezra’s mom, and the other victims.”
In an interview with NBC’s “TODAY” show, Ezra’s aunt, Taylor Blount, described the crowd as a “death trap.”
“The crowd just started going crazy, and Treston goes, ‘I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe,'” she said.
It was during the post-concert chaos that she and her family were unable to locate Ezra and had to contact local hospitals.
Family and fiancée of Danish Baig, 27, rejected the offer to cover funeral expenses, according to a lawyer for the family and fiancée.
According to his family, Baig died while trying to rescue his fiancée from the stomping and kicking of the crowd.
The attorney for the family of 14-year-old victim John Hilgert, Richard Mithoff, called the offer “demeaning and inappropriate given the magnitude of the tragedy.” in a written statement on Wednesday.
“The Hilgerts are not about to allow someone else to pay for their son’s funeral. It was one of the last things they could do for their son,” he said. “But of all the things this case is about, this is the least of the family’s concern. The Hilgerts are set on making change and making sure this never happens again.”
Scott said he couldn’t have predicted the severity of the situation in a video he posted to Instagram after the concert.
“I’m honestly just devastated,” Scott said. “I could never imagine anything like this just happening.”
Hundreds of concertgoers are suing Scott for damages. A total of 93 lawsuits representing nearly 200 plaintiffs were filed by Hilliard and fellow attorney Benjamin Crump in November, accusing Scott and Live Nation of negligence.
According to a Live Nation spokesman, the company is working with investigators.
On Friday, a spokesman said, “We continue to support and assist local authorities in their ongoing investigation so that both the fans who attended and their families can get the answers they deserve.”
On the lawsuits, a representative for Scott refused to answer questions.