Drake has broken his silence following the mass casualty event that occurred during his surprise appearance with Travis Scott at the Astroworld music festival on Friday. A sudden “crowd surge” during the performance left eight people dead and 25 others hospitalized, with an investigation into the tragedy ongoing.
Drake addressed the tragedy in an Instagram post on Monday, the musician explaining that he has “spent the past few days trying to wrap my mind around this devastating tragedy.” Drake said that while he hates “resorting to this platform to express an emotion as delicate as grief but this is where I find myself.” The rapper went on to express his condolences, writing that his “heart is broken for the families and friends of those who lost their lives and for anyone who is suffering.” He added that he will “continue to pray for all of them, and will be of service in any way I can. May God be with you all.”
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Drake’s statement followed remarks made by Scott over the weekend. In a social media post, the rapper, who founded Astroworld in 2018, said he is “absolutely devastated by what took place last night. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival.” He added that he is “committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need.”
Drake and Scott had been performing onstage together when the Astroworld crowd began to compress towards the front of the stage, which resulted in panic as several people went into cardiac arrest and others suffered injuries. Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña said during a press conference that on-site medical units were “quickly overwhelmed” amid the crowd surge, which left eight people, including teenagers, dead, more than two dozen hospitalized, and hundreds more treated at a field hospital at the stadium. The two musicians have been widely criticized for continuing their performance even as concertgoers begged for the set to stop and as medical vehicles could be seen entering the crowd.
According to lawsuits filed by Astroworld attendees, both Scott and Drake are at least partially to blame for the tragedy. A lawsuit filed by Kristian Paredes naming Drake, Scott, Live Nation, and Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation as defendants, it is alleged that Drake “came on stage alongside Travis Scott and helped incite the crowd,” and “the crowd became chaotic and a stampede began leaving eight dead and dozens including Kristian Paredes severely injured.” Neither musician has publicly responded to the suits at this time.
