TEXAS, United States (AP) – Rap superstar Travis Scott was questioned on Monday in a deposition he’s giving in reference to a whole bunch of lawsuits that were filed against him and others over the deaths and injuries on the 2021 Astroworld festival.
Scott was questioned in Houston during a deposition that would take several days to finish, two individuals with knowledge in regards to the litigation said.
Lawyers and others connected to the lawsuits are under a gag order, stopping them from saying little beyond what happens during court hearings.
An attorney for Scott didn’t immediately return an e-mail searching for comment. A spokesperson for Scott said an announcement about Monday’s deposition was being prepared.
This was the primary time Scott was questioned by attorneys for many who have filed lawsuits since a crowd surge at his November 5, 2021, concert in Houston killed 10 festivalgoers.
Those killed, who ranged in age from nine to 27, died from compression asphyxia, which an authority likened to being crushed by a automotive.
Similar crushes have happened all around the world, from a soccer stadium in England to the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia to Halloween festivities within the South Korean capital. Most individuals who who die in crowd surges suffocate.
Scott’s deposition comes as a judge earlier this yr scheduled the primary trial from the lawsuits for May 6, 2024. That first trial would happen nearly 2.5 years because the deadly concert.
Documents filed in court in April listed greater than 1,500 lively cases, a lot of which were filed against Scott and Live Nation, the concert promoter.
Of those, 992 were cases with physical injuries and 313 were cases of “emotional distress, pain, suffering and mental anguish”. Orthopedic surgeries have been accomplished in 17 of those cases, with other surgeries beneficial in one other 21.
Among the lawsuits have since been settled, including those filed by the families of three of the people killed throughout the concert.
In June, a grand jury in Houston declined to indict Scott and five other people on any criminal charges related to the deadly concert.
Scott’s deposition on Monday took place on the identical day that hip hop artist Drake, who performed several songs with Scott throughout the Astroworld concert, was performing in Houston. Drake was also sued in reference to the deadly concert.
