Travis Scott was reportedly unable to share his phone records with lawyers working on the Astroworld case after it was reported that the phone had fallen into the sea.
During Scott and Live Nation’s Astroworld Festival appearance on November 5, 2021, thousands of people were injured when the crowd surged to the front of the stage during Scott’s main performance.
During the show, 10 people died from compression asphyxia – the victims ranged in age from nine to 27 years.
At the time, Scott said the tragedy left him “devastated” but he didn’t realize how serious the events were until he left the stage. Since the incident, thousands of plaintiffs have come forward to claim potential billions of dollars in damages.
Concerning rolling stoneThose who came forward with complaints cited several accusations, including poor planning by festival organizers and a lack of security, that contributed to the influx of crowds. Live Nation and Scott have previously denied the claims.
Although a Texas grand jury decided back in June that the rapper would not be charged, civil lawsuits filed by several victims are still active in Texas state courts.
Scott’s lawyer, Kent Shaffer, said in June that the decision not to charge Scott was a “huge relief” for his client (via BBC).
Shaffer confirmed in a statement that the jury met but decided not to indict his client. He also denies any wrongdoing by the rapper. “He never encouraged people to do anything that resulted in harm to other people,” he said. “Travis is not responsible. Filing criminal charges against him will not ease (the victim’s) pain.”
Earlier this week, Scott faced additional questions about the Houston festival in what his lawyer deemed “typical legal procedure.”
It is now alleged that attorneys representing the plaintiffs were forced to file emergency motions to obtain electronic records of Scott and his employees through his organization Global Inc and Cactus Jack. The lawyers argued that they did not provide the necessary documents.
In documents received rolling stoneIn response, Scott’s legal team said his phone fell off a boat while the rapper was on vacation in Mexico and subsequently could not be found.
rolling stone said they had seen a motion from the plaintiffs’ lawyers that said: “Travis Scott and his team stand out because they did not create a single text, WeChat message, video or photo from their phones – not because they don’t exist – but because his lawyers decided not to take photos or check their phones as ordered by the court.”
Attorneys reportedly previously stated in the case that Scott and XX Global Inc had previously refused to provide information from their phones on various grounds, saying the request was a “search for confidential and/or sensitive information” and that the disclosure of said documents “was” being unreasonably accumulated or duplicate other requests.”
Scott’s lawyer, Steve Brody, said the rapper’s mobile device “fell off a boat in January 2022 and landed somewhere on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico and is beyond repair.” He added that he had not backed up his phone due to “serious fears of hacking.”
In the transcript received rolling stoneJudge Kristen Hawkins questioned this, saying: “It appears that no action was taken by Mr Scott’s legal team to prompt A to immediately secure and download anything from his phone. following an event in which 10 people were killed, or, B, attempting to recover text messages from alternative sources when Mr. Scott would have the opportunity to go and obtain that information, perhaps from the carrier or other sources.”
Brody reportedly explained that they considered recovering messages through Apple and Scott’s ISP, but were unable to do so.
NME Scott’s representatives have reached out for comment.
Elsewhere, Scott teamed up with Drake to perform their latest collaboration “Meltdown” live for the first time in Vancouver, Canada.
While performing at Rodgers Arena in Vancouver on August 29 as part of his ongoing It’s All A Blur Tour, Drake featured Travis Scott as a special guest performer. Although the tour was supposed to feature 21 Savage alongside Drake, 21 Savage was unable to perform at any shows in Canada due to ongoing immigration issues.