Astroworld: Families reject Travis Scott’s funeral offer
Around half of Astroworld’s victims’ families have rejected an offer from Travis Scott to pay for the funerals – including the family of the concert’s youngest victim, nine-year-old Ezra Blount.
Travis Scott had, within days of the crowd surge at his Astroworld concert, offered to cover funeral expenses for the 10 people who died. The tragedy also left hundreds injured. But according to Rolling Stone, five of the victims’ families have rejected his offer.
The family of Ezra Blount said they wouldn’t accept the officer, with the family’s attorney Bob Hilliard writing he has “no doubt Mr. Scott feels remorse” over the incident.
“His journey ahead will be painful,” Hilliard continued. “He must face and hopefully see that he bears some of the responsibility for this tragedy.”
The attorney for the family of John Hilgert, 14, said the offer was “demeaning and really inappropriate”.
“It was not an offer [the Hilgerts] were going to seriously consider,” Richard Mithoff told Rolling Stone.
“Of all the things this case is about, that’s the least of any concern. This family is set on making change, and ensuring this never happens at a concert again.”
The family of Hilgert recently filed a lawsuit against Travis Scott over the tragedy.
Philip Corboy, attorney for families of both Jacob Jurinek and Franco Patino, said that Scott’s method of reaching out – through legal teams – made the families realise “that all he was trying to do was trying to lessen the public outcry on his case.
“If he’s trying to impress upon the families that he’s sincere and has concern for them and realize that funerals can be expensive, what Scott’s team did is not the way to do it,” Corboy continued.
“You don’t get a piece of paper in the mail from a lawyer in Beverly Hills who says he represents Travis Scott. These families are raw right now; that lacks any personal touch.”
Tony Buzbee, representing the family of Axel Acosta, called the offer “bullshit.”
“If you gave a shit about these families, you wouldn’t have to put out a press release for everyone to see saying he’s willing to pay for a funeral,” Buzbee continued.
“He says he feels sorry for them but he’s quick to say it wasn’t his fault. He’s no different than any defendant pointing fingers to someone else. They don’t want funeral expenses from him. Whatever we get from him, we’re going to get through the court system.”
Buzbee previously filed a $750million (£555m) lawsuit on behalf of 125 attendees of the festival, with the suit reading “No amount of money will ever make these Plaintiffs whole; no amount of money can restore human life.
“But, the damages sought in this case attempts to fix, help, or make up for the harms and losses suffered by these Plaintiffs-nothing more and nothing less.”
Many lawsuits have been filed against Travis Scott, Live Nation and other involved parties.
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