Drake has released his first public statement about the events of Travis Scott‘s Astroworld festival in Houston, Texas last week, where a crowd crush during Scott’s headline set resulted in the deaths of eight people and hundreds of injuries.
The rapper appeared onstage alongside Scott during the latter’s set on Friday night (November 5), with the pair performing a handful of songs together. During the set, at Houston’s NRG Park, the audience began to compress towards the front of the stage, causing injuries, shortness of breath and, for some, cardiac arrest.
“I’ve spent the past few days trying to wrap my mind around this devastating tragedy. I hate resorting to this platform to express an emotion as delicate as grief but this is where I find myself,” Drake wrote in a statement on Instagram earlier today (November 9).
“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.”
Yesterday, it was reported that Drake was named in at least one lawsuit filed by an attendee of the festival, alongside Scott and promoters Live Nation. The attendee’s attorney, Thomas J. Henry, claimed in a press release issued by his firm that the crowd surged when Drake made an unannounced appearance on stage, leading to chaos among concertgoers.
Scott and Drake continued to perform, the release alleged, “even as emergency vehicles arrived and responders attempted to rescue those in distress”.
Drake’s comments follow similar statements issued by Scott. In a brief, written message posted to Twitter shortly after the incident, Scott said he was “absolutely devastated” by the tragedy and that he was “committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need”.
Scott followed up with a longer video shared to his Instagram, saying he could “never imagine the severity of the situation” and was working closely with authorities to “get to the bottom of this”.
Yesterday, Scott said he would pay funeral costs for the deceased and online therapy costs for those in need.
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