Why Travis Scott Paused His Most Recent Concert

All eyes are on Travis Scott as he returns to live performances. At Scott's 2021 Astroworld Festival, around 50,000 attendees surged toward the stage, causing panic and suffocation. In a press conference the night of the incident, Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña called it a "mass casualty incident" before all of the deaths had even been confirmed.

The tragedy led to Scott facing a lot of backlash from those who felt he encouraged the surge and should have ended the performance earlier. Disturbing videos began circulating of fans desperately pleading with Scott and staff to stop the show. According to AP News, Scott did stop the concert at least once to call for help for an audience member. However, they also noted that the event was not called off until 40 minutes after members of the Houston police force saw fans "going down." 

Since Astroworld, Scott has taken action to rebuild his reputation and regain the public's trust. In March, he took to Instagram to announce Project HEAL, an initiative which in part supports event safety. His conduct at his latest performance suggests that he's taking it seriously. 

Many fans crowded around to see Travis Scott and Meek Mill perform at Coney Island on July 4. Although the local group was not comparable to the size of Astroworld, the dense pack still caused some to be desperate for a better view of the star. According to a video obtained by TMZ, some fans climbed up the lighting truss to watch the rapper from a higher vantage point. 

Scott cut off his performance of his hit song "Antidote" to call out the dangerous behavior. "We need y'all to get down," he calls. "Is everybody okay? Lemme get a 'hell yeah!'" He also took the time to manage a potential crowd surge, ordering, "Everybody here, take two steps back. Security, don't push them." When the situation felt safe again, the show resumed. 

In a statement to the New York Post following the concert, a spokesperson for the artist said, "Travis is committed to doing his part to ensure events are as safe as possible so that fans can have fun." While those in attendance were clearly excited about his return, others were skeptical. "Why are people still attending an event with [Travis'] name associated? Yall might as well play freeze tag on top of [a] moving train," one Twitter user wrote. "Why are we still letting him have shows," said another.