Why is Drake being sued in connection with the tragic Astroworld concert?

Key sentence:

• Live Nation Entertainment Inc., a promoter, and Scott are among those accused in the complaints. 

What Canadian rapper Drake may have known about the disaster unfolding at the Astroworld concert in Houston. At the same time, he took the stage has put him as a defendant in several lawsuits filed in the aftermath of the incident.

“The charge against Drake is that he should have known that people were being wounded and injured,” said Meredith Duncan, a law professor at the University of Houston Law Center Faculty.

“And he was going to contribute to that situation by taking the stage and performing.”

Following an apparent audience surge at rapper Travis Scott’s Astroworld outdoor music festival, many lawsuits have been lodged, and a criminal investigation has been started. The concert on Nov. 5 drew 50,000 people, according to authorities.

Live Nation Entertainment Inc., a promoter, and Scott are among those accused in the complaints. In addition, Drake, who went on stage with Scott as a surprise guest artist, has been cited as a defendant in subsequent court actions.

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‘Aimed at energising the crowd.’

Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and Scott and Drake are named in one of the cases filed by concertgoer Kristian Paredes, 23, of Texas. 

According to the lawsuit, the Toronto rapper, whose actual name is Aubrey Drake Graham, “helped agitate the crowd” and remained on stage with Scott “as the crowd went out of control” and “the crowd mayhem escalated.”

Concertgoers had recounted the suffocating crowd becoming perilous even before Scott took the stage, as well as watching people collapse while the rapper was performing. 

Scott reportedly interrupted his performance when it became evident that people needed medical help and encouraged the crowd to make way for an ambulance that was making its way through the crowd. Still, he returned to finish his act later.

Authorities announced the performance was being shut down at 10:03 p.m. CT, but witnesses say Scott and Drake continued to perform.

Scott’s lawyers have stated that their client was unaware of the deaths and injuries until after the concert had ended. According to other news stories, Drake was reportedly oblivious of what had occurred. 

Drake stated his heart was “broken for the families and friends of all those who lost their lives, and for anyone who is hurting” in an Instagram post.

Some lawsuits allege both carelessness and gross negligence, claiming that all defendants failed to take reasonable precautions to prevent physical injury and death. Gross negligence means that the defendants were aware of the risk but chose to ignore it.

Source: CBC

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