1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:18,959 Speaker 1: Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. This is the 2 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:23,160 Speaker 1: story about a music festival, and not just any music festival, 3 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:26,599 Speaker 1: a disastrous music festival led by one of the biggest 4 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 1: musical stars in the world, Travis Scott. But this is 5 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:35,440 Speaker 1: also a story about well hell and one of the 6 00:00:35,479 --> 00:00:39,680 Speaker 1: dirtiest of the seven Deadly sins, greed. And this is 7 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:43,879 Speaker 1: also a story about the devil and what happens when 8 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: the devil is in control. It's the story of a 9 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:53,199 Speaker 1: supposed Satanic sacrifice, an energy harvest wherein innocent souls were stolen. 10 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:58,600 Speaker 1: This is a story about Travis Scott's Astor World, a 11 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:03,120 Speaker 1: festival that contained some great music. Unlike that music I 12 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:05,520 Speaker 1: played for you at the top of the show. That 13 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:09,120 Speaker 1: wasn't great music. That was a preset loop from my 14 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:15,120 Speaker 1: melotron called Barbarian Bolero MK One. I played you that 15 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:18,080 Speaker 1: loop because I can't afford the rights to Easy on 16 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:21,520 Speaker 1: Me by Adele And why would I play you that 17 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: specific slice of redemptive torch Cheese? Could I afford it? 18 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 1: Because that was the number one song in America on 19 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:34,720 Speaker 1: November fifth, twenty twenty one, and that was the day 20 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:37,800 Speaker 1: that a music festival organized by a hometown hero in 21 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: Houston went horribly awry, plunging tens of thousands into what 22 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 1: truly felt like hell on Earth on this episode, greed, 23 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 1: satanic sacrifices, snatched souls. In Travis Scott's Astro World, I'm 24 00:01:54,960 --> 00:02:32,600 Speaker 1: Jake Brennan, and this this disgraceland hell. That was a 25 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:37,600 Speaker 1: word used to describe the COVID nineteen pandemic, especially by 26 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:41,320 Speaker 1: frontline workers who witness the worst of the infectious disease 27 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:45,720 Speaker 1: at close range. Here in the US. In January of 28 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:48,680 Speaker 1: twenty twenty one, just about a year after the first 29 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:53,799 Speaker 1: case was recorded in Washington State, cases suddenly surged nationwide. 30 00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:59,240 Speaker 1: And it's not difficult to understand why social distancing mass 31 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:05,400 Speaker 1: is that type of behavior. It's not normal those restrictions. 32 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:11,079 Speaker 1: Human beings aren't supposed to live with them. We require contact, interaction. 33 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 1: We need to be around other people, whether it's at 34 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:17,959 Speaker 1: the movie theater or a concert venue, or a church 35 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:23,160 Speaker 1: or a ballpark. Shared experiences are crucial to the human experience. 36 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 1: Coming out of COVID, what we wanted more than anything 37 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:31,520 Speaker 1: was to have those experiences again, to get our lives back, 38 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:35,480 Speaker 1: to feel that sense of normalcy. A sense of ourselves 39 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:39,080 Speaker 1: in social settings with other people, but we had to 40 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 1: relearn it. Months a year spent in isolation meant we 41 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 1: were collectively rusty. So we conjured a spell, one we 42 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 1: hoped would heal the pain of COVID, but instead we 43 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: created a monster, a malevolent entity with a mind of 44 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 1: its own. And for those unlucky enough to get in 45 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:06,040 Speaker 1: the path of this monster, they found themselves staring down 46 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:10,760 Speaker 1: the very thing we all thought we'd escaped from hell. 47 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:19,520 Speaker 1: November fifth, twenty twenty one, Houston, Texas, nine am. The 48 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 1: crowd outside Energy Park was growing restless. Some fans have 49 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:27,920 Speaker 1: been there long before sunrise, but the gates wouldn't open 50 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,720 Speaker 1: for another hour, so they were forced to wait. But 51 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:33,760 Speaker 1: what they really wanted was to be letting out all 52 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:36,520 Speaker 1: that emotion and aggression that they'd started up during the 53 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:43,120 Speaker 1: COVID nineteen pandemic in isolation. They wanted to rage. Check 54 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:47,479 Speaker 1: that they were under a directive to rage, per the 55 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:51,800 Speaker 1: organizer and headliner of the third annual Astroworld Festival, the 56 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:57,800 Speaker 1: hip hop artist Travis Scott. Raging was Travis Scott's ethos, 57 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 1: the kind shared by a hardcore or a punk audience 58 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:05,960 Speaker 1: or Travis's beloved world of professional wrestling. A Travis Scott 59 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:11,920 Speaker 1: show implied physical audience participation, mosh pits, crowdsurfing, stage rushing, 60 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:15,599 Speaker 1: and While part of the allure of Astorworld was the 61 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:19,680 Speaker 1: eclectic two day lineup with performances by Bad Bunny Dam 62 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:22,880 Speaker 1: and Paula Sizza, then Earth Went and Fired and name 63 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:28,120 Speaker 1: a few, Travis Scott was different. He was a hometown boy, 64 00:05:28,279 --> 00:05:32,200 Speaker 1: made good and all that. Two solo albums that debuted 65 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:34,880 Speaker 1: at the top of the Billboard Album chart, Birds in 66 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:39,120 Speaker 1: the Traps Sing good Night, and Astorworld, the latter named 67 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:42,039 Speaker 1: after the former six Flags amusement park in Houston that 68 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:46,720 Speaker 1: once stood near the music festival's location. A compilation album 69 00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:51,120 Speaker 1: called jack Boys also number one number one singles too, 70 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:55,400 Speaker 1: and don't forget the merchandise collaborations with Hot Wheels, with Nike, 71 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 1: with Receis, and most famously with McDonald's, who just one 72 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:02,880 Speaker 1: year prior had made Travis the first celebrity to be 73 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:06,240 Speaker 1: featured on their menu since Michael Jordan way back in 74 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:11,719 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety two. My point is Travis Scott in November 75 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:16,680 Speaker 1: of twenty twenty one was huge, but back home in Houston, 76 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:21,479 Speaker 1: Travis Scott was beyond huge. He loomed large, just like 77 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:24,520 Speaker 1: that giant statue of him now loomed over the growing 78 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:27,559 Speaker 1: crowd of hundreds, impatiently waiting for the gates to open 79 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 1: and let them into Energy Park and into the Astro 80 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:34,360 Speaker 1: World Festival. Once inside, their eyes would be open to 81 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:38,480 Speaker 1: a whole new universe, or so promised the promotional posters. 82 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:41,520 Speaker 1: See you on the other side, the poster read, next 83 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:43,720 Speaker 1: to a sketch of a pair of hands with big 84 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:46,120 Speaker 1: eyes stuck in their palms, and what looked to be 85 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:49,880 Speaker 1: a two lane road descending down a large tunnel. Above 86 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:52,919 Speaker 1: that tunnel was a crude drawing of a figure walking 87 00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:57,040 Speaker 1: through a doorframe. A whole new universe the other side. 88 00:06:57,360 --> 00:07:01,159 Speaker 1: Here tonight, the crowd that was assembled outside the gates 89 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:04,640 Speaker 1: understood the assignment at hand. To get to that other side, 90 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:06,640 Speaker 1: they had to push the party to the edge of 91 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:11,680 Speaker 1: total chaos. Only then would the experience be truly transformative. 92 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: The crowd had done this in twenty fifteen at Lallapalooza 93 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:18,840 Speaker 1: in Chicago, when Travis Scott encouraged fans to jump the 94 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:22,120 Speaker 1: barricades to give any and all security guards the finger 95 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:25,840 Speaker 1: and a chant we want rage. Travis got the boot 96 00:07:25,960 --> 00:07:28,440 Speaker 1: just five minutes into his set, but not before a 97 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:32,160 Speaker 1: fifteen year old girl was injured in the resulting stampede, 98 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:35,360 Speaker 1: for which Travis Scott was charged with reckless conduct and 99 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:39,120 Speaker 1: sentenced to one year of court supervision. Two years later, 100 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:43,160 Speaker 1: in twenty seventeen, Travis was charged with disorderly conduct in 101 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:46,160 Speaker 1: order to pay restitution to multiple people who were injured 102 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:49,280 Speaker 1: when he once again instructed fans to rush the stage 103 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:53,080 Speaker 1: during a show in Arkansas. In just weeks after that, 104 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:56,360 Speaker 1: at a show of Manhattan, Travis Scott, on stage at 105 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:59,160 Speaker 1: Terminal five, looked up at a fan dangling from the 106 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:02,200 Speaker 1: second floor ballot be about to fall into the audience below. 107 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:05,160 Speaker 1: I see you, but are you going to do it? 108 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:09,640 Speaker 1: Travis asked from the stage. The kid hesitated, They're gonna 109 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:13,080 Speaker 1: catch you. Travis said, don't be scared. Don't be scared. 110 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:16,480 Speaker 1: The kid let go. It was dropped safely into the 111 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:20,440 Speaker 1: arms of his fellow concertgoers. Not so lucky was the 112 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:23,280 Speaker 1: next ban to fall from the same balcony, who did 113 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:25,960 Speaker 1: so not under his own volition, but because he was 114 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:30,040 Speaker 1: pushed as the crowd surged against his back. He tumbled 115 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:32,720 Speaker 1: over the edge, falling fast, hitting the floor with such 116 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:35,880 Speaker 1: force that he immediately broke several bones in his vertebrae 117 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:41,400 Speaker 1: and was paralyzed. Now, on November fifth, twenty twenty one, 118 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:44,720 Speaker 1: at Astro World, those who had been injured and disabled 119 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:48,880 Speaker 1: at previous Travis Scott shows were a distant memory. COVID 120 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:51,720 Speaker 1: felt like a lifetime ago, a really bad dream that 121 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:54,960 Speaker 1: everyone had since woken up from here. Now it was 122 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:58,480 Speaker 1: all about moving forward, onwards and upwards in the past 123 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:02,920 Speaker 1: year and through these gar and so even before the 124 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:06,280 Speaker 1: gates officially opened at ten am, that's what many were doing, 125 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:10,920 Speaker 1: crawling under fences, knocking over barricades, snapping the chain link 126 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:14,120 Speaker 1: fences with bowl cutters, even those who weren't supposed to 127 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:17,800 Speaker 1: be there, Literally thousands more showing up beyond the fifty 128 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:21,320 Speaker 1: thousand ticketed attendees. And when the gates did open for real, 129 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:25,360 Speaker 1: it was like a swollen river bursting a dam. No order, 130 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:29,400 Speaker 1: no chill, just a swarm of bodies, mostly teenagers and 131 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:33,560 Speaker 1: young adults, feet pounding the pavement, some pushed, some pulled, 132 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:38,439 Speaker 1: some falling to the ground, trampled, entire sections of fencing flattened, 133 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:43,200 Speaker 1: They skipped security checkpoints, knocked over metal detectors. The first 134 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:45,200 Speaker 1: set by the first artist of the day wasn't for 135 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:48,920 Speaker 1: another three hours, but none of that mattered. Time right 136 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:52,600 Speaker 1: now moved just as unpredictably as it had during the pandemic. 137 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:58,160 Speaker 1: But you you're moving with purpose. You're trying to get 138 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:00,760 Speaker 1: safely past the crush at the gate and get inside, 139 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:03,440 Speaker 1: which you do, and the first point of interest you 140 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:06,800 Speaker 1: encounter is the merch booth. Hundreds, if not thousands, of 141 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:10,040 Speaker 1: bodies are running straight forward. The barricade set up to 142 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:13,320 Speaker 1: maintain an organized line of commerce are being ignored. Kids 143 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:16,040 Speaker 1: are jumping them or just pushing them aside, cutting the 144 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:18,360 Speaker 1: line if there was even a line to cut. The 145 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:22,280 Speaker 1: crowd grows, the bodies push forward. You're caught in the 146 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:25,280 Speaker 1: flow against your will, so you find a way out 147 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:28,360 Speaker 1: and take it, And just at that moment, the crowd 148 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:33,640 Speaker 1: gets really crazy. Kids, adults, normal human beings suddenly gone feral. 149 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:36,320 Speaker 1: They want what they want and they're going to take it. 150 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:39,400 Speaker 1: As you walk away, you watch as people start to 151 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 1: pounce on the merch counter, grabbing t shirts, grabbing for 152 00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:45,640 Speaker 1: registers full of cash, whatever they can get their hands on. 153 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:48,480 Speaker 1: Minutes later, you hear some dude telling his girl that 154 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:51,200 Speaker 1: the merch area was shut down after multiple requests for 155 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:55,040 Speaker 1: police and medical attention. By this point, you've made your 156 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 1: way through the giant whitehead statue of Travis Scott that 157 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:01,360 Speaker 1: leads into the main concert area. It's the same bust 158 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:03,920 Speaker 1: of Travis on the cover of his Astra World album. 159 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:07,520 Speaker 1: You walk straight through his open mouth, which is kind 160 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:10,559 Speaker 1: of rad but also kind of gross at the same time, 161 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:15,240 Speaker 1: and then right up ahead you see it just like 162 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:17,520 Speaker 1: it was shown to you on the Astra World posters, 163 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:22,319 Speaker 1: that long road descending into a large tunnel. But this 164 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:26,319 Speaker 1: road is actually a stage which looks not unlike an 165 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 1: inverted cross, And the large tunnel that this inverted cross 166 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:35,720 Speaker 1: sprawls into is actually a circle constructed in layers to 167 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:41,840 Speaker 1: create depth. That circle is drilled into an even bigger backdrop, 168 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:47,040 Speaker 1: which is shaped like a mountain. Right now, the mountain 169 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:51,960 Speaker 1: is black with a tan outline, nondescript, just another man 170 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:56,440 Speaker 1: made structure in broad daylight. But tonight, at nine pm, 171 00:11:56,520 --> 00:12:01,440 Speaker 1: to be exact, it will change. Everything will change because 172 00:12:01,440 --> 00:12:05,440 Speaker 1: that's when Travis Scott will take the stage. That's when 173 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:10,839 Speaker 1: that nondescript man made structure will become possessed. That's when 174 00:12:10,880 --> 00:12:14,360 Speaker 1: the monster will take over, and you and every other 175 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:19,280 Speaker 1: person here willingly or not, will be taken kicking and 176 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:50,360 Speaker 1: screaming to the other side. By eight point thirty that evening, 177 00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:54,560 Speaker 1: the mountain backdrop on the Astor World stage was glowing yellow, 178 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:59,560 Speaker 1: then orange, and then red. The audience was well beyond capacity. 179 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:03,520 Speaker 1: Remember that's fifty thousand people due to all the gay 180 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:08,880 Speaker 1: crashers who overwhelmed Astor World's infrastructure. The incredibly bright colors 181 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,680 Speaker 1: radiating from the stage cut through the dark Houston night, 182 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:15,960 Speaker 1: bleeding all over the fences staring back, and the layered 183 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:18,080 Speaker 1: circles at the center of the mountain began to glow 184 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:22,040 Speaker 1: red too. Then the words Sea on the other side 185 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:25,960 Speaker 1: were followed by a timer. It started at thirty minutes 186 00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:30,000 Speaker 1: and immediately began to count down. Fans had spent the 187 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:33,640 Speaker 1: last seven plus hours watching sets by Master p by 188 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:37,000 Speaker 1: Don Tolliver, by Little Baby, and others, but they were 189 00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:40,880 Speaker 1: beyond sight for their hometown hero. Each minute that the 190 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:44,400 Speaker 1: timer counted down was a minute closer to Travis Scott, 191 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:50,920 Speaker 1: closer to Rage, closer to that other side. Twenty five minutes, 192 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:55,839 Speaker 1: twenty fifteen, Around the ten minute mark in the front 193 00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:59,120 Speaker 1: left quadrant up near the stage. A huge surge in 194 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:02,560 Speaker 1: the crowd came from It was violent and quick, and 195 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:05,440 Speaker 1: there was no choice but to be carried along. People 196 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:07,760 Speaker 1: were packed in so tight that you either had your 197 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:10,079 Speaker 1: arms straight up in the air or straight down by 198 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:12,960 Speaker 1: your side. It was like you looked directly into the 199 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:17,640 Speaker 1: eyes of Medusa, turned to stone with a snap, arms 200 00:14:17,679 --> 00:14:20,880 Speaker 1: pressed against your chest, fists clenched into your neck, your 201 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:24,239 Speaker 1: head leaning back, face angled up to the open sky, 202 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:27,800 Speaker 1: gasping for a few tiny breaths above the fray. The 203 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:31,240 Speaker 1: air of anticipation and excitement so often present at the 204 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:34,560 Speaker 1: start of a show like this, suddenly blotted out by 205 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:39,200 Speaker 1: a feeling of dread. Someone screamed, and then another. War 206 00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:42,840 Speaker 1: cries and sounds of warning. The blood red light from 207 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:52,200 Speaker 1: the stage intensified. Five minutes four three, two one. An 208 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:56,720 Speaker 1: organ rang out, started low and then building ancient history 209 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:01,040 Speaker 1: reanimated but still rotten. The layered circles in the center 210 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:04,040 Speaker 1: of the mountain on stage began to glow deep red. 211 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:10,240 Speaker 1: The monster was alive, now taking shape. It sent forth 212 00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:13,480 Speaker 1: a messenger to announce its arrival. An image of a 213 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:16,400 Speaker 1: bird or a dragon was flapping its wings in a 214 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:18,800 Speaker 1: cloud of fire at the top of the mountain, and 215 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:22,440 Speaker 1: the organ music became auto tuned inverted, just like that 216 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:27,480 Speaker 1: cross of a stage. Without warning, Travis Scott jumped from 217 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:31,640 Speaker 1: out of nowhere, his feet landing hard, the music hitting 218 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:37,520 Speaker 1: even harder, bass, treble, organ fire, huge flame shot into 219 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:40,960 Speaker 1: the sky all around him. Travis's first song was called 220 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:45,560 Speaker 1: escape plan ironic, seeing as there was no escape as 221 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:50,000 Speaker 1: the crowd once again surged forward. This time the surge 222 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:53,760 Speaker 1: was harder and more forceful than before. Body sandwiched into 223 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:56,640 Speaker 1: other bodies, so tight that you could feel your lungs 224 00:15:56,640 --> 00:16:00,320 Speaker 1: compressed and the air lead out of you. Ever been 225 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:03,360 Speaker 1: in a crowd crushed before, you know how frightening It 226 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:07,080 Speaker 1: is not just the realization that your oxygen supply has 227 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:09,880 Speaker 1: been cut out, or of the adrenaline and the survival 228 00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:12,760 Speaker 1: instinct that kicks in to save you, but the feeling 229 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:18,280 Speaker 1: that you've completely lost control. Thousands of bodies all becoming one, 230 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:22,280 Speaker 1: moving as one, ebbing and flowing as one. Your feet 231 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:25,760 Speaker 1: literally lift off the ground, you removed from one spot 232 00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:28,720 Speaker 1: to another. It's like you're being carried away on a 233 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:32,480 Speaker 1: gigantic wave in the ocean, only the ocean is other people, 234 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:37,040 Speaker 1: just like Hell is, other people that make no mistake, 235 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:43,400 Speaker 1: Hell was here on Earth, at astor world. The monster's 236 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:46,600 Speaker 1: voice was in the base frequencies, so loud that it 237 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:49,200 Speaker 1: felt like the ground was about to split open and 238 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:53,200 Speaker 1: swallow everyone whole. The monster's tongue was in the flames 239 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:57,480 Speaker 1: that continued to erupt all over the stage. Darkness devoured 240 00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:00,640 Speaker 1: the light. The mountain was a volcano. The center of 241 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:04,040 Speaker 1: the layered circle morphed into a giant eyeball, darting to 242 00:17:04,080 --> 00:17:05,959 Speaker 1: the left and then to the right, looking at all 243 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:08,919 Speaker 1: fifty thousand plus people out there, looking directly at you, 244 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:13,760 Speaker 1: all seeing, all knowing. The crowd crush swelled again as 245 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:16,320 Speaker 1: the inverted church music mixed with an ear splitting hip 246 00:17:16,320 --> 00:17:20,280 Speaker 1: hop beat, and the intended effect was one release in catharsis, 247 00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:23,720 Speaker 1: But in reality, the effect it created was one of 248 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:28,560 Speaker 1: pure panic. Some couldn't handle it. They crouched down on 249 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:32,159 Speaker 1: one knee, attempting to catch their breath. Instead, they were 250 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:35,359 Speaker 1: plowed over by the bodies surrounding them, knocked to the ground, 251 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:39,240 Speaker 1: stepped on trampled mash pits, were collapsing in on themselves, 252 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:44,680 Speaker 1: broken feet, broken hands, dislocated shoulders, blood running from the noses, 253 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:47,680 Speaker 1: and blood pouring out of mouths, eyes rolling into the 254 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:51,879 Speaker 1: backs of heads, blue lips, gray skin. A college student 255 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:56,040 Speaker 1: displayed out on the ground, unconscious, maybe dead. Someone started 256 00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:59,040 Speaker 1: CPR on her while others screened for a medic. A 257 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:02,119 Speaker 1: nine year old on top of his father's shoulders, thrown 258 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:04,800 Speaker 1: forward when his dad was caught up and the crowd crush, 259 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:07,840 Speaker 1: the boy was launched into a massive arms and legs. 260 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:10,760 Speaker 1: One second he was right there and the next he 261 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:17,000 Speaker 1: was gone. Things were going very, very badly, but not 262 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:20,320 Speaker 1: everyone knew it. If you watch videos taken by those 263 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:23,240 Speaker 1: in the crowd, you can hear people screaming help and 264 00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:27,399 Speaker 1: stop the show in between the songs. The footage is chilling. 265 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:30,360 Speaker 1: You can see people climbing up on risers to get 266 00:18:30,359 --> 00:18:33,520 Speaker 1: the attention of camera operators, yelling to them that the 267 00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:37,000 Speaker 1: show had to be stopped, that people were dying. But 268 00:18:37,119 --> 00:18:40,600 Speaker 1: you can also hear other fans making fun of the whistleblowers, 269 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:44,320 Speaker 1: telling them to calm down. The crowd was just too big. 270 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:47,480 Speaker 1: The music, the lights, the pyro, all of it was 271 00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:53,640 Speaker 1: waging a constant, all out assault on the senses on stage. 272 00:18:53,760 --> 00:18:56,320 Speaker 1: Travis Scott was hoisted in the air on a riser 273 00:18:56,359 --> 00:18:58,919 Speaker 1: of his own. He looked down on the mass of 274 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:02,280 Speaker 1: flesh watched one kid escape the crowd and climb up 275 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:04,760 Speaker 1: one of the trees there on site. It was like 276 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:07,840 Speaker 1: the guy hanging from the balcony in Manhattan all over again. 277 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:12,000 Speaker 1: Taking his cue from the kid in the tree, Travis asked, 278 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:16,080 Speaker 1: who wants to rage. Some of the crowd roared their approval, 279 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:19,919 Speaker 1: while others went horace, calling for medical attention. Voices of 280 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:23,439 Speaker 1: terror mixed in with voices of rapture, no telling the 281 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:28,760 Speaker 1: two apart. But then, for a brief moment it seemed 282 00:19:28,800 --> 00:19:32,919 Speaker 1: like things would turn around. Travis noticed an ambulance pushing 283 00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:35,679 Speaker 1: its way through the audience en route to someone who 284 00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:39,679 Speaker 1: was passed out and needed medical attention. He stopped the show. 285 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:44,080 Speaker 1: He watched silently as the fan was helped. The smartphone 286 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:47,960 Speaker 1: video of this moment shows actual concern in Travis Scott's face, 287 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:52,560 Speaker 1: but also confusion, almost like he's stuck in a moment, 288 00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:57,480 Speaker 1: as if he went somewhere else slowly, though he came 289 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:01,359 Speaker 1: back thirty seconds later. He asked everyone who was okay 290 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:03,800 Speaker 1: to stick a middle finger in the sky, and the 291 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:07,240 Speaker 1: fingers went up, and then just sixty seconds after he 292 00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:11,320 Speaker 1: stopped the show, it was back on. The music blasted, 293 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:15,320 Speaker 1: the flames erupted, the ambulance slowly made its way out 294 00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 1: while Travis was screaming, I want to make this motherfucking 295 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:22,760 Speaker 1: ground shake. God damn it. He was the quote unquote 296 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:27,000 Speaker 1: maestro directing the chaos, as The Washington Post once wrote 297 00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:31,840 Speaker 1: about him, exhibiting that trademark unhinged leaping, as Rolling Stone 298 00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:35,000 Speaker 1: magazine put it when they compared Travis Scott's frantic stage 299 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:39,960 Speaker 1: presence to Michael Jackson's iconic Moonwalk. But Travis Scott didn't 300 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:43,760 Speaker 1: do Moonwalk's. He didn't glide on the ground. He shook it. 301 00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:47,760 Speaker 1: At nine thirty eight pm, a little over a half 302 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:50,879 Speaker 1: hour into Travis scott set, the Houston Fire Department had 303 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:54,160 Speaker 1: seen enough, way too many calls for people being trampled, 304 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:57,479 Speaker 1: passing out in need of CPR or another urgent medical attention. 305 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:04,679 Speaker 1: At that moment, Houston Fire officially declared Asterworld a mass 306 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:09,200 Speaker 1: casualty event. Houston PD informed the festival's promoters that the 307 00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:13,040 Speaker 1: show had to end right now, but the show didn't end. 308 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:16,800 Speaker 1: The monster wasn't ready to go back in its box. 309 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:33,280 Speaker 1: We'll be right back after this. We're We're where ten pm, 310 00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:37,359 Speaker 1: twenty two minutes after the Houston Fire Department declared Astorworld 311 00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:42,280 Speaker 1: a mass casualty event, Travis Scott continued to perform, and 312 00:21:42,359 --> 00:21:45,320 Speaker 1: he was doing so now with a surprise guests, the 313 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:49,280 Speaker 1: Toronto rapper and singer Drake, who joined Travis on stage 314 00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:53,520 Speaker 1: to euphoric applause from the crowd below. Meanwhile, in that 315 00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:57,480 Speaker 1: same crowd, medics made a desperate search for those who 316 00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:00,639 Speaker 1: needed help. The cries of the wounded and the dying 317 00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:03,480 Speaker 1: rang out, only to be drowned out by the throng. 318 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:07,280 Speaker 1: Bodies were being hauled over barricades and passed over her 319 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:11,280 Speaker 1: shoulders as if they were crowdsurfing, But these bodies were limped, 320 00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:15,160 Speaker 1: and in many cases the medics on hand were ill equipped, 321 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:20,520 Speaker 1: no defibrillators, no oxygen, just to their bare hands. One 322 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:23,600 Speaker 1: medic did have a backboard to transport an unconscious woman, 323 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:27,520 Speaker 1: but the backboard had no straps. It was a struggle 324 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:29,800 Speaker 1: to carry the body through the crowd of people, and 325 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:33,879 Speaker 1: many didn't move aside. Others were oblivious. Two caught up 326 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:37,800 Speaker 1: in the sight and sound of Drake and Travis on stage, 327 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:41,120 Speaker 1: the medics lost their grip and the unconscious woman began 328 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:44,159 Speaker 1: to slide out of the backboard with no straps. She 329 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:49,119 Speaker 1: hit the ground directly on her head. Elsewhere, another ambulance 330 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:52,359 Speaker 1: made of a labored slog through thousands of people. A 331 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:54,560 Speaker 1: couple of fans jumped on top of the vehicle and 332 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:58,840 Speaker 1: began to dance on it. One concert goer later compared 333 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:01,040 Speaker 1: the sight of people trapped to the crowd the pigs 334 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:06,320 Speaker 1: in a cage. Others said they were literally in hell. 335 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:10,479 Speaker 1: At ten fourteen pm, fourteen minutes after Drake's arrival and 336 00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:13,639 Speaker 1: now over half an hour since the mass casualty event declaration, 337 00:23:14,359 --> 00:23:18,080 Speaker 1: Travis Scott finished the last song of the night. Pastor 338 00:23:18,119 --> 00:23:22,400 Speaker 1: World was officially over, just one minute after a twenty 339 00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:26,800 Speaker 1: three year old attendee, the festival's first fatality, died at 340 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:32,720 Speaker 1: a nearby hospital. Ten people in total died from injuries 341 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:35,720 Speaker 1: sustained at Astorworld that night, all of them in their 342 00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:38,280 Speaker 1: teens or twenties, with the exception of a nine year 343 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:42,320 Speaker 1: old boy. I told you about him earlier. Ezra Blunt 344 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:45,320 Speaker 1: fell off his father's shoulders when the crowd surge hit 345 00:23:45,359 --> 00:23:48,439 Speaker 1: them from behind. His father could not find him, and 346 00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:51,760 Speaker 1: did not find him until much later, when Ezra turned 347 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:54,680 Speaker 1: up as a John Doe at the hospital. He was 348 00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:58,440 Speaker 1: put into a medically induced coma and died shortly thereafter. 349 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:02,800 Speaker 1: The News of the Astor World tragedy quickly hit the wires. 350 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:06,120 Speaker 1: The next morning, Travis Scott issued a statement that read, 351 00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:09,920 Speaker 1: in part, I'm absolutely devastated by what took place last night. 352 00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:12,440 Speaker 1: My prayers go out to the families and all those 353 00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:17,199 Speaker 1: impacted by what happened at astra World festival. On TikTok, Instagram, 354 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:20,679 Speaker 1: and Facebook, survivors posted videos they had taken during the 355 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:24,960 Speaker 1: show that clearly documented the harrowing sequence of events. With 356 00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:28,080 Speaker 1: those videos came not just outrage and shock from other 357 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:32,600 Speaker 1: users online, but some extremely disturbing interpretations of what was 358 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:36,920 Speaker 1: really going on or so some were saying. The search 359 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:42,000 Speaker 1: term Astoral World sacrifice began to trend on TikTok. The 360 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:47,040 Speaker 1: so called interpretations followed Astor World was a Satanic ritual, 361 00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:51,040 Speaker 1: astra a World was a quote unquote energy harvest in 362 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:54,440 Speaker 1: which Travis Scott put people under a spell and snatched 363 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:58,440 Speaker 1: their souls. Just look at the demonic imagery, the flames, 364 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:02,360 Speaker 1: the giant I stage that looked like an inverted cross, 365 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:05,920 Speaker 1: the shirt Travis was wearing with cartoon figures walking through 366 00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:08,480 Speaker 1: a portal and emerging with what seemed to be horns 367 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:11,720 Speaker 1: on their head. And this is the sampling of what 368 00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:15,199 Speaker 1: people were writing on TikTok and Twitter and elsewhere. If 369 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:17,280 Speaker 1: you don't believe that there was nothing demonic about the 370 00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:20,119 Speaker 1: whole concert, you are spiritually blind. And I pray that 371 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:23,760 Speaker 1: God opens your eyes. I'm a big fan of Travis Scott, 372 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:27,440 Speaker 1: but this is some demonic ass shit in this one, 373 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:30,520 Speaker 1: which referred to the fact that Astor World attendees were 374 00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:33,119 Speaker 1: required to have proof of a negative COVID test or 375 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:38,320 Speaker 1: a COVID vaccination quote jab plus five g in frequency 376 00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:44,400 Speaker 1: at concert equal dead unquote, just to reiterate the imagery 377 00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:46,919 Speaker 1: and the video in the first hand accounts coming out 378 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:49,919 Speaker 1: of Astor World were so fucked up that people were 379 00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:54,080 Speaker 1: saying jab plus five g and frequency at concert equal dead. 380 00:25:54,760 --> 00:25:57,920 Speaker 1: In other words, that this was some mass conspiracy involving 381 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:00,920 Speaker 1: the government and the music industry to kill people at 382 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:04,400 Speaker 1: a Travis Scott show. Coming out of the COVID pandemic 383 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:07,400 Speaker 1: didn't bring us together, it started to pull us even 384 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:13,560 Speaker 1: further apart. Consider this. The very next day, November sixth, 385 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:17,360 Speaker 1: Troy Finner, Houston's chief of Police, held a press conference, 386 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:20,879 Speaker 1: a portion of which was spent addressing these wild rumors 387 00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:24,440 Speaker 1: that were circulating online. He reminded people to be respectful 388 00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:26,399 Speaker 1: of the families of those who had been killed and 389 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:29,640 Speaker 1: to follow the facts and the evidence. He said there 390 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:31,960 Speaker 1: were a lot of narratives out there, including one in 391 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,200 Speaker 1: which Astorworld had been a targeted attack by an individual 392 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:39,120 Speaker 1: who was running around and injecting people with drugs. TMZ 393 00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:41,879 Speaker 1: was one of the news outlets peddling this narrative, saying 394 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:45,199 Speaker 1: a source connected to Astorworld told him that the crowd 395 00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:48,040 Speaker 1: crush was due to the panic that ensued when we're 396 00:26:48,119 --> 00:26:51,320 Speaker 1: got around that some crazy person was stabbing people with 397 00:26:51,359 --> 00:26:55,000 Speaker 1: a needle and shooting them up. At the press conference, 398 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:59,880 Speaker 1: Houston's chief of Police did not shut down this particular story. Instead, 399 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:04,159 Speaker 1: Chief Troy Finner went on to essentially confirm this story. 400 00:27:04,760 --> 00:27:06,800 Speaker 1: He said that, according to medical staff, one of Astor 401 00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:09,720 Speaker 1: World security guards was reaching over to restrain someone in 402 00:27:09,760 --> 00:27:11,800 Speaker 1: the crowd when he felt a prick in his neck. 403 00:27:12,359 --> 00:27:16,359 Speaker 1: Immediately he went unconscious. He needed to be revived with narcan, which, 404 00:27:16,359 --> 00:27:19,399 Speaker 1: as you probably know, is used to treat narcotic overdoses, 405 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:22,880 Speaker 1: and the medical staff that examined him confirmed that there 406 00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:25,200 Speaker 1: was a mark on his neck consistent with a needle prick. 407 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:28,560 Speaker 1: So here you have the top ranking official in Houston's 408 00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:32,240 Speaker 1: police force seemingly confirming one of the wild rumors floating 409 00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:36,439 Speaker 1: around online and in the press, which in turn caused 410 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:41,000 Speaker 1: even more panic and even more confusion. Panic and confusion 411 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:59,359 Speaker 1: two things now keeping the monster of Astor World alive. 412 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:09,119 Speaker 1: Novem twenty twenty one, five days after the tragedy at 413 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:12,160 Speaker 1: Astorworld and four days since Houston's chief of Police spoke 414 00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:14,680 Speaker 1: about a festival security guard getting pricked in the neck 415 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:17,879 Speaker 1: with a needle, Chief Troy Finner, was now giving another 416 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:21,040 Speaker 1: press conference, this one in which he walked back his 417 00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:24,879 Speaker 1: statement from four days prior. During that time, he had 418 00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:27,960 Speaker 1: spoken directly to the security guard in question, and what 419 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:30,440 Speaker 1: the guy had to say for himself was far less 420 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:34,719 Speaker 1: sinister than previously believed. Turns out, the security guard was 421 00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:38,040 Speaker 1: not injected in the neck, but instead hitting the head 422 00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:41,680 Speaker 1: and knocked unconscious. He woke up shortly afterward in the 423 00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:44,640 Speaker 1: medical tent, and there was no needle and no narcan 424 00:28:44,960 --> 00:28:48,080 Speaker 1: and no faceless, nameless demon running around the Astor World 425 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:53,400 Speaker 1: grounds shooting up unsuspecting attendees with drugs, which begs the 426 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:57,880 Speaker 1: question who provided this targeted attack narrative in the first place, 427 00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:02,080 Speaker 1: Who is the quote source connected to astorworlde who provided 428 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:06,040 Speaker 1: TMZ with this information in the first place, information which 429 00:29:06,080 --> 00:29:10,240 Speaker 1: TMZ had since taken down from its website. And speaking 430 00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:12,960 Speaker 1: of questions, why didn't the show end at nine thirty 431 00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:15,800 Speaker 1: eight pm that night when the Houston Fire Department declared 432 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:18,640 Speaker 1: it in a mass casualty event. When the Houston PD 433 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:21,800 Speaker 1: told the promoter to shut it down, why did Travis 434 00:29:21,840 --> 00:29:26,160 Speaker 1: Scott keep performing for more than another thirty minutes? There 435 00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:30,400 Speaker 1: were no clear answers offered to these questions. The cops, 436 00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:34,800 Speaker 1: the promoters, the security, the County, Travis Scott, everyone involved 437 00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:37,880 Speaker 1: passed the buck. The Houston PD said they didn't have 438 00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:40,920 Speaker 1: the proper authority to shut the show down. Security guards 439 00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:44,760 Speaker 1: spoke of poor training and worse communication. One Houston City 440 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:47,800 Speaker 1: Council member stressed that the event was technically not held 441 00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:51,479 Speaker 1: on city properties, so you know, not their problem. Of course, 442 00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:53,600 Speaker 1: no one wants to admit they played a part in 443 00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:56,640 Speaker 1: creating a monster, especially one that takes the lives of 444 00:29:56,680 --> 00:30:00,200 Speaker 1: ten people. But someone would be held accountable, and the 445 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:02,520 Speaker 1: families of victims were going to make sure of it. 446 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:08,680 Speaker 1: Two years later, in twenty twenty three, Travis Scott sat 447 00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:11,280 Speaker 1: in a room in Houston where he was grilled for 448 00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:15,120 Speaker 1: eight hours during a civil deposition. A Texas grand jury 449 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:18,120 Speaker 1: had declined to indict him on criminal charges, but three 450 00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:21,240 Speaker 1: hundred and eighty seven lawsuits were brought against him, against 451 00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:26,360 Speaker 1: Live Nation Entertainment and against various subcontractors. Three hundred and 452 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:30,200 Speaker 1: eighty seven lawsuits, representing nearly twenty eight hundred victims and 453 00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:34,600 Speaker 1: totaling billions of dollars in damages, all rolled into a 454 00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:38,480 Speaker 1: single legal action. These were in addition to the ten 455 00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:43,080 Speaker 1: wrongful death lawsuits filed by families of the deceased. Travis 456 00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:47,080 Speaker 1: Scott maintained his innocence. He said he didn't know how 457 00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:49,040 Speaker 1: bad it was out there in the crowd, and he 458 00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:51,720 Speaker 1: wouldn't know the extent of the carnage until the next morning. 459 00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:54,920 Speaker 1: He did admit that someone spoke to him during his 460 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:58,840 Speaker 1: performance shortly before ten PM, right around the time that 461 00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:02,040 Speaker 1: Drake joined him on State A voice that came through 462 00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:04,920 Speaker 1: as in your monitors and said, you, Trav, you gotta 463 00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:06,600 Speaker 1: wrap it up. It's getting got of hectic out there. 464 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:11,800 Speaker 1: Not people are getting crushed, stopped the show. Not people 465 00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:15,600 Speaker 1: can't breathe, they're passing out, maybe dying. Just it's getting 466 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:19,560 Speaker 1: kind of hectic out there. And so Travis Scott wrapped 467 00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:22,440 Speaker 1: it up. It just took him another fourteen minutes, give 468 00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:26,960 Speaker 1: or take to do so. Attorneys representing the plaintiffs were skeptical. 469 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:29,840 Speaker 1: They couldn't prove if the voice coming through Travis's any 470 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:33,239 Speaker 1: your monitors had more explicit instructions. But there were other 471 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:35,920 Speaker 1: things that were hard to write off, like the fact 472 00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:38,560 Speaker 1: that if Travis wanted to pocket an additional four point 473 00:31:38,600 --> 00:31:41,600 Speaker 1: five million dollars coming to him from the concert's live stream, 474 00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:45,000 Speaker 1: he had to finish his complete set as planned. In 475 00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:50,400 Speaker 1: other words, ending early meant losing a massive payday. It 476 00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:53,960 Speaker 1: sounds cynical, I know, but attorneys are paid to be cynical. 477 00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:57,240 Speaker 1: So these attorneys filed in an emergency motion to obtain 478 00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:00,760 Speaker 1: Travis Scott's phone records, the thinking being that by doing so, 479 00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:03,560 Speaker 1: perhaps it could uncover some evidence to prove that he 480 00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:06,440 Speaker 1: knew more than he was letting on. There was just 481 00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:11,480 Speaker 1: one problem. There was no phone. Travis Scott's phone, his 482 00:32:11,640 --> 00:32:13,720 Speaker 1: cell phone, the one he owned at the time of 483 00:32:13,760 --> 00:32:17,640 Speaker 1: Astor World in twenty twenty one. It was gone, like 484 00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:21,640 Speaker 1: long gone in just months after the festival. In January 485 00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:24,280 Speaker 1: of twenty twenty two, while on a boat in the 486 00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:27,840 Speaker 1: Gulf of Mexico, Travis Scott's cell phone fell into the 487 00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:30,920 Speaker 1: water and sank all the way down into the murky 488 00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:35,600 Speaker 1: depths below. But a phone wasn't all Travis Scott lost. 489 00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:39,320 Speaker 1: In May of this year, twenty twenty four, it was 490 00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:42,800 Speaker 1: reported by The Houston Chronicle that all ten lawsuits filed 491 00:32:42,800 --> 00:32:45,239 Speaker 1: by the families of the ten Astor World victims had 492 00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:48,200 Speaker 1: been settled, including the one on behalf of nine year 493 00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:52,880 Speaker 1: old Ezra Blunt, Travis Live Nation, other companies and individuals. 494 00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:57,360 Speaker 1: They settled those lawsuits for undisclosed sums and under confidential terms, 495 00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:00,720 Speaker 1: in many cases just days before the suit were scheduled 496 00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:04,200 Speaker 1: to go to trial. The news came mere months after 497 00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:08,720 Speaker 1: the revelation that Astorworld organizers miscalculated a state fire code 498 00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:12,480 Speaker 1: when planning the event. According to that fire code, each 499 00:33:12,520 --> 00:33:16,160 Speaker 1: person at the show needed seven square feet to prevent overcrowding, 500 00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:19,240 Speaker 1: so by that math, capacity should have been about thirty 501 00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:24,560 Speaker 1: four five hundred people. Instead, the organizers mistakenly settled on 502 00:33:24,680 --> 00:33:28,840 Speaker 1: five square feet per person, resulting in the fifty thousand 503 00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:32,520 Speaker 1: fans that were ticketed. That's a difference of more than 504 00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:39,520 Speaker 1: fifteen thousand people. Fifteen thousand extra people. That's no small detail. 505 00:33:40,520 --> 00:33:45,720 Speaker 1: But the devil is in the details. That may be true, 506 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:48,400 Speaker 1: but for thousands of people on a warm Texas night 507 00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:53,960 Speaker 1: in November, the devil was that Astorworld. Then that was 508 00:33:54,000 --> 00:34:08,320 Speaker 1: a disgrace. I'm Jake Brennan in This is Disgrace slaand 509 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:15,439 Speaker 1: all right, guys, thanks for checking out this incredibly dark 510 00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:17,680 Speaker 1: episode on Travis Scott. Before I get to the question 511 00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:20,640 Speaker 1: of the week, I want to remind you guys, we're 512 00:34:20,640 --> 00:34:22,520 Speaker 1: doing this live stream event. I want you to be 513 00:34:22,560 --> 00:34:24,560 Speaker 1: a part of it. It's on October ninth. I'm me 514 00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:26,520 Speaker 1: tell them a story of Blink one eighty two's Tom 515 00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:30,640 Speaker 1: DeLong and his work with UFO disclosure. And there's a 516 00:34:30,640 --> 00:34:33,880 Speaker 1: lot of creepy government cover up and conspiracy attached to this. 517 00:34:34,160 --> 00:34:36,960 Speaker 1: Go to moment dot co slash Disgraceland to get your tickets. 518 00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:39,080 Speaker 1: Sets for October ninth, You guys can be a part 519 00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:41,319 Speaker 1: of the show with me. Thank you for checking out 520 00:34:41,320 --> 00:34:44,520 Speaker 1: this episode on Travis Scott and ask World where ten 521 00:34:44,719 --> 00:34:47,520 Speaker 1: people died ten So a question of the week for 522 00:34:47,560 --> 00:34:52,040 Speaker 1: you guys is what is music's darkest day? Was it 523 00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:55,040 Speaker 1: this disaster? Was it a plane crash, a riot, a 524 00:34:55,160 --> 00:34:59,239 Speaker 1: murder spree, serial killing? What was? There is so much 525 00:34:59,320 --> 00:35:02,120 Speaker 1: evil in the history of music that the choices here 526 00:35:02,120 --> 00:35:03,600 Speaker 1: are kind of endless when you think about it. So 527 00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:06,600 Speaker 1: let me know what day or event was the darkest 528 00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:09,160 Speaker 1: for music history. Six one seven nine oh six six 529 00:35:09,280 --> 00:35:11,560 Speaker 1: six three eight, Leave me a voicemail, send me a text, 530 00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:13,000 Speaker 1: and let me know. You can also reach me at 531 00:35:13,040 --> 00:35:17,000 Speaker 1: disgrace lampod as well on Instagram, X and Facebook. Leave 532 00:35:17,040 --> 00:35:20,000 Speaker 1: a review for the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify 533 00:35:20,080 --> 00:35:22,080 Speaker 1: and win some free merch. All right, here comes some credits. 534 00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:26,160 Speaker 1: Disgraceland was created by Yours Truly and is produced in 535 00:35:26,200 --> 00:35:29,600 Speaker 1: partnership with Double Elvis. Credits for this episode can be 536 00:35:29,640 --> 00:35:33,040 Speaker 1: found on the show notes page at disgracelampod dot com. 537 00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:36,439 Speaker 1: If you're listening as a Disgraceland All Access member, thank 538 00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:39,160 Speaker 1: you for supporting the show. We really appreciate it, and 539 00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:41,520 Speaker 1: if not, you can become a member right now by 540 00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:46,200 Speaker 1: going to disgracelampod dot com slash Membership. Members can listen 541 00:35:46,239 --> 00:35:50,000 Speaker 1: to every episode of Disgraceland ad free, Plus you'll get 542 00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:54,840 Speaker 1: one brand new exclusive episode every month, weekly unscripted bonus episodes, 543 00:35:54,920 --> 00:35:58,800 Speaker 1: special audio collections, and early access to merchandise and events. 544 00:35:59,320 --> 00:36:03,759 Speaker 1: Visit disclampod dot com slash membership for details, rate and 545 00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:06,400 Speaker 1: review the show, and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, 546 00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:10,359 Speaker 1: and Facebook at disgraceslampod and on YouTube at YouTube dot 547 00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:19,080 Speaker 1: com slash at Disgraceslampod, rock a Rolla he the bed 548 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:19,959 Speaker 1: Don Man