*The lawyer for the family of 10-year-old Ezra Blount, who died at Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival last year, is blasting the rapper’s team for being “tone-deaf” amid the release of Scott’s new “UTOPIA” album.
The Houston Police Department on Friday released its final report on the November 2021 tragedy in Houston, which left 10 people dead and hundreds injured. Scott’s attorney Kent Schaffer spoke with TMZ about the timing of the report’s release and accused police of attempting to sabotage album sales.
“Travis Scott and his team were, as anticipated, fully cleared of any wrongdoing associated with the Astroworld tragedy by a grand jury based on the very report released today,” the rep told TMZ. “It is outrageous that HPD has chosen to resort to tactics that attempt to discredit Travis and his team, casting doubt on how the unfortunate events at Astroworld actually transpired while deflecting blame from their own critical failures.”
The statement concluded: “We encourage the Houston PD to make peace with the fact that Travis Scott and his team were found innocent of any wrongdoing and to focus on what really matters – making sure tragedies like Astroworld never occur again under their watch.”
In response to Scott and his team, Bob Hilliard, the lawyer for the family of Ezra Blount, told TMZ, “For an artist making his living with music, these are stunningly tone-deaf comments about this preventable tragedy that took so many lives and injured so many.”
Hilliard added, “Of course they would only focus on how the report’s release date hurts their album sales instead of the facts contained inside of the report.”
Meanwhile, Ted Anastasiou, a rep for Travis Scott, responded to Hilliard’s statement, telling TMZ … “As we’ve said before, the Houston police report confirmed Travis’ concern for his fans’ safety.
“The report contains the same exact evidence that was presented to the Houston grand jury that decided there was no basis for charges against Travis. To use that report to try to blame Travis for the Astroworld tragedy doesn’t just defy logic, but can be seen as nothing but a cynical attempt to exploit the victims and gaslight the public.”
Meanwhile, Scott’s July 28 concert at the Egyptian Pyramids of Giz was canceled by officials in Egypt over safety concerns and “peculiar rituals.”
As Hollywood Unlocked reports, Live Nation said in a statement, “Unfortunately, despite highest efforts, complex production issues meant that the show could not be constructed in the desert. We understand that this news is disappointing and not the outcome any of us desired. Refunds will be issues to all ticket holders at their point of purchase. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this cancellation may have used and appreciate your understanding.”
