Scott unaware of deaths till after show
Rapper Travis Scott said in an interview that he didn’t know that fans had died at his Astroworld festival in Houston until after his performance.
In a lengthy interview with radio personality Charlamagne Tha God posted on YouTube Thursday, Scott described from his perspective what happened at the Nov. 5 festival that left 10 people dead.
“It wasn’t really until minutes before the press conference until I figured out exactly what happened. Even after the show, you’re just kind of hearing things, but I didn’t know the exact details until minutes before the press conference,” he said.
He said he paused the performance a couple of times, but he couldn’t hear fans screaming for help.
“I stopped like a couple of times just to make sure everybody was OK,” said Scott. “I just really go off the fans energy as a collective, you know? Call and response. I just didn’t, I just didn’t hear that.”
Scott was the headliner and creator of the Astroworld festival, where 50,000 people were in the audience. Scott’s set turned deadly as fans surged toward the stage. The youngest victim was Ezra Blount, 9. The others who died ranged in age from 14 to 27.
Scott said he had private discussions with some of the families of the victims. He also said that he understood why some families declined his offer to pay for funeral expenses.
Scott said that he wants to know more about what caused the deaths and be a leader in finding ways to prevent similar tragedies from happening at other live events.
“I have a responsibility to figure out what happened here. I have a responsibility to figure out the solution,” said Scott.
Starr shares tribute to Lennon: Ringo Starr shared a short and sweet tribute to his Beatles bandmate John Lennon, who died 41 years ago Wednesday. Starr posted a vintage photo showing him on the drums and Lennon on the guitar in a Twitter post. “Peace and love my friend,” Starr captioned the photo.
Lennon was fatally shot on Dec. 8, 1980, in New York City. The official Twitter account for Lennon also honored the iconic musician and songwriter, sharing a series of photos and retweeting numerous tributes on Wednesday.
Miller settles phone hacking claim: Actor Sienna Miller on Thursday accepted “substantial” damages from the publisher of British tabloid newspaper The Sun, which she accuses of hacking her phone and leaking news of her pregnancy.
Miller, whose films include “Factory Girl,” “Black Mass” and “The Lost City of Z,” joins a list of dozens of people who have received payments from News Group Newspapers over illegal eavesdropping that took place over a decade ago. News Group Newspapers has paid millions of pounds to settle lawsuits from hacking victims.
Miller, 39, said she felt “fully vindicated” after the publisher agreed to pay her undisclosed “substantial damages” without admitting liability.
Dec. 10 birthdays: Actor Fionnula Flanagan is 80. Actor Gloria Loring is 75. Drummer Walter “Clyde” Orange is 75. Singer Johnny Rodriguez is 70. Actor Susan Dey is 69. Director Kenneth Branagh is 61. TV chef Bobby Flay is
57. Drummer Meg White is
47. Actor Gavin Houston is
44. Actor Raven-Symone is
36. Actor Kiki Layne is 30.