Disturbing text sent during Travis Scott performance that killed 10 people including 9-year-old child leaves people 'disgusted'
A chilling text message sent by a Live Nation employee just moments before Travis Scott’s doomed Astroworld performance in 2021 has been revealed in a new documentary about the tragic event.
On 5 November 2021 during the rapper's headline set at Astroworld Festival in Houston, ten people were killed during a surge in the crowd, with hundreds of other concert attendees being injured in the crush.
A new Netflix doc, Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy, was released on 10 June and explores what happened at the disastrous event.
The harrowing story is told through footage shot by festival-goers, 911 calls, and interviews with survivors and families of victims. But one moment in particular has stood out to viewers and left people ‘disgusted’.
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A collection of text messages were shown that seemingly proved those managing the event knew things were beginning to go wrong but chose not to immediately end the concert.
The alleged texts came from Scott Davidson, a crowd safety expert who was recruited to work with Live Nation, the events company who managed the festival, in the aftermath of the tragedy.
Davidson said he was given a 'treasure trove' of evidence, which included emails and text messages to help his investigation.
One of the most shocking revelations is a text said to be sent at 9pm, just two minutes before Scott took to the stage.
The reported message sent from a Live Nation employee read: “Stage right of main is getting crushed. This is bad. Pull tons over the rail unconscious.
“There’s panic in people’s eyes. This could get worse quickly. I would pull the plug but that’s just me. I know they’ll try to fight through it but I would want it on the record that I didn’t advise this to continue."
They added: “Someone’s going to end up dead.”
Taking to Reddit to discuss the documentary, one user wrote that the text messages were ‘disgusting’.
Meanwhile on X, another angrily quipped: “Oh girl. The text messages. Live Nation needs to be abolished”.
And another wrote: “Someone from Live Nation sent a text at 9:00 PM saying people are going to die and they want it on the record that they think they should cancel the show. AT 9 PM! They didn’t stop the show until 10:15 PM!! #AstroWorld #ASTROWORLDFest."
With a third adding: “Now that text message between the live nation were very chilling the fact they had already acknowledge that people were/are dying and they did NOTHING TO STOP PREVENTING IT FROM HAPPENING.”
According to The Tab, Live Nation maintains that the show was ended early following an agreement with Houston police and the festival’s safety director.
After the disaster, it was ruled that all 10 people who died, died from ‘compression asphyxia’ which is where external force limits the ability of the chest to expand, cutting off oxygen.
The youngest victim was nine-year-old Ezra Blount, who heartbreakingly died after nine days on life support in hospital due to severe brain and organ trauma.
Numerous lawsuits were filed against Live Nation, Scott, and other defendants, by those injured and victims’ families alleging there was a lack of adequate safety protocols and emergency responses.
However, all of the wrongful death lawsuits were settled out of court by June 2024 for undisclosed amounts.
On top of this, the rapper Scott was one of six people who faced criminal charges related to the deaths, but a jury found that no single individual was criminally responsible.
Tyla has contacted Live Nation for further comment.
Topics: Netflix, News, US News, Documentaries
Madison Burgess