Families of Astroworld victims reject Travis Scott's 'demeaning' offer to pay for funerals


After rapper Travis Scott said he would pay for the funerals of ten people left dead following a crowd surge at his Astroworld music festival, multiple families are rejecting the offer.
The families of John Hilgert and Danish Baig, two victims killed in the crowd surge at Scott's music festival in Houston last month, were reportedly the latest to turn down his offer to cover the funeral expenses, with the Baig family's attorney Michael Lyons telling TMZ, "[Y]ou can infer that when a parent has to bury their child that they're not really interested in people who may have contributed to that being involved."
The families of half of the victims of the Astroworld crowd surge have now rejected Scott's offer, according to Rolling Stone. The family of 9-year-old Ezra Blount did so earlier this week. And attorney Richard Mithoff, who represents the family of 14-year-old John Hilgert, told Rolling Stone the offer was "frankly demeaning and really inappropriate to the magnitude of the tragedy," while attorney Philip Corboy told the outlet the families of 21-year-old victims Jacob Jurinek and Franco Patino felt Scott was just "trying to lessen the public outcry on his case," noting he reached out through his attorneys rather than personally.
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Attorney Tony Buzbee, who represents the family of 21-year-old victim Axel Acosta, also told Rolling Stone that if Scott "gave a s--- about these families, [he] wouldn't have to put out a press release for everyone to see saying he's willing to pay for a funeral."
Scott was performing at the Astroworld festival on Nov. 5 when multiple people were killed in a deadly crowd surge. Scott said in the wake of the tragedy that he was "absolutely devastated," and his attorney has said he was unaware a mass casualty event had been declared while he was on stage. He's now facing numerous lawsuits, including one that's seeking over $750 million.
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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