Netflix has dropped Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy, a new documentary on the fatal Travis Scott music festival. By revealing new information about the case, viewers are now calling for a boycott of Live Nation.
On November 5, 2021, the rapper returned for his annual music festival in Houston, Texas, where 50,000 fans descended upon NRG Park. They thought it would be the post-pandemic event of the decade, but it soon turned into a real-life horror story.
Attendees flooded the main arena for Scott’s performance, leading to a crowd crush that left 10 people dead and many more injured. As is explored in the new documentary, various factors contributed to this devastating outcome.
Poor layout design, lack of coordination between staff, and security lapses all had a part to play. Now, viewers are pointing the finger at Live Nation, the management team behind the Astroworld festival.
Live Nation facing backlash after Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy
Despite its long history with safety violations, Live Nation Entertainment – which merged with Ticketmaster in 2010 – had a record-breaking year in 2024, generating over $23.1 billion in revenue.
This fact has sparked anger after the release of Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy. “In 2024, Live Nation had a record-breaking year, with Travis Scott’s Circus Maximus tour being a major contributor,” wrote one on Reddit.
“The tour, which concluded as the highest-grossing rap tour in history, earned $209.3 million and sold 1.7 million tickets across 76 sold-out shows worldwide.” After highlighting the incidents at Scott’s shows, they asked, “Why isn’t there a boycott against him or Live Nation?”
Another suggested that Scott himself should have boycotted the firm. “I haven’t seen anyone else comment on the fact that he partnered up again with Live Nation after this. If you, as an artist, don’t take responsibility for this, who else is there to blame?” they said.
“The ‘only people’ who could stop the concert is Live Nation execs or whatever. If you gain that knowledge, see the texts, hear that they are informed, make public apologies, why partner with people whose negligence killed your fans?…
“Even if he truly wasn’t aware of anything in the moment, not taking a stand against Live Nation after that is shameful. He has more than enough money and fans to survive the aftermath of choosing not to work with them.”
“Live Nation company gives me no faith in anybody, especially them, making concerts safe. They just don’t give a sh**,” added a third. “It’s so disturbing.”
A fourth chimed in, “The contrast of people dying in one section and the ones on the next not giving a s**t. At the end, the people were shocked, crying, looking for their friends. And the other ones 100% choosing to ignore it…
“Horrible people the whole lot. Travis, Live Nation, and the sh**ty fans that didn’t care others were dying.”
Live Nation text messages
One of the most disturbing elements of the Netflix documentary is the collection of text messages that show certain execs knew what was happening and chose not to end the concert there and then.
Scott Davidson, a crowd safety expert who was brought in to investigate the tragedy, says, “I was given text messages between executives to emails, documentation and site plans, thousands of photographs and videos, all of which have been made public.
“I believe Astroworld 2021 was not an accident. It was an inevitability due to the lack of foresight and the abandonment of basic safety protocols.” The first issue is the main stage, which could hold 35,000 people.
Since 50,000 tickets were sold and more individuals were able to break in due to the lack of security at certain entry points, there were thousands more attendants than could safely view Scott’s performance.
Text messages between key members of the management team show apprehension about this factor days prior to the event, with one writing, “I feel like there is no way we are going to fit 50k in front of that stage, especially with all of the trees.”
Davidson goes on to highlight exchanges that unfolded between management as the situation worsened, saying that they “show Live Nation was aware of the tragedy that was unfolding.”
One of the messages states, “Stage right of main is getting crushed. This is bad. Pull tons over the rail unconscious. There’s panic in people’s eyes. This could get worse quickly.” They received a reply that simply says, “Yes.”
The original messenger responded, “I would pull the plug but that’s just me. I know they’ll try to fight through it but I would want it on the record that I don’t advise this to continue. Someone’s going to end up dead.”
Davidson continues, “They failed to act before it was too late.”
A viewer of the true crime doc said on the Reddit thread, “I think the most disappointing part for me was they had the texts saying something bad was going to happen.
“Travis Scott had a history of being unsafe at shows, they knew going in they sold too many tickets, and the last Astroworld concert there was a mess with people jumping the fences, and with all that, here we are. I don’t understand how they found no one was responsible.”
Travis Scott and Live Nation’s history of safety issues
The tragedy at Astroworld 2021 was not an isolated incident. Both Travis Scott and Live Nation have been connected to multiple safety controversies over the years, which have been highlighted in the wake of the new Trainwreck episode.
According to a 2021 report from the Houston Chronicle, Live Nation Entertainment and its subsidiary Live Nation Worldwide have been linked to around 200 deaths and at least 750 injuries since 2006.
These figures span a wide range of events and were uncovered through court records, OSHA reports, and media coverage.
While some cases were the result of outside attacks – such as the 2017 suicide bombing at Ariana Grande’s Manchester concert and the Las Vegas mass shooting during the Route 91 Harvest festival – others point directly to failures in crowd safety and structural management.
In 2011, a stage collapse at a Live Nation event in Indiana left seven people dead and 61 injured, leading to a $50 million settlement. Just two years later, a concert staffer in Long Island suffered permanent brain damage after a forklift tipped over a control booth – the jury awarded the victim $101 million in damages.
Even in more recent years, OSHA records show numerous violations, including a 2018 incident where a Live Nation worker was hospitalized after being struck by a falling steel post.
Travis Scott himself has a history of inciting chaos at live events. In 2015, during his set at Lollapalooza, he encouraged fans to jump security barriers and rush the stage, cutting his performance short and leading to his arrest for disorderly conduct.
In 2017 at a New York City show, Scott’s concert led to a crowd surge that pushed a man off a balcony, leaving him partially paralyzed. The attendant later sued Scott.
These incidents didn’t slow him down. At the 2019 Astroworld festival, crowds broke through barricades, and several attendees were injured in the stampede. Then, in 2023, there was a further incident for his Utopia show in Rome.
With this long trail of past safety issues, viewers of the streamer’s new doc want there to be some sort of legal action taken against Scott and Live Nation.
“They screwed up so bad,” said one. “There was so much evidence and I agree the expert was so upset about the whole thing. Another case of god forbid we hold millionaires and billionaires accountable for their actions.”
A second wrote, “Also the whole ‘only the execs can stop the show’ thing is just BS. There have been SO MANY instances of artists telling audio to cut so they can pause for someone struggling. He could have done SOMETHING.”
The Kardashians – particularly Kylie and Kendall – have also found themselves under scrutiny by viewers.
Why are the Kardashians facing backlash?
Reports confirmed that Kylie, Kendall, and young Stormi attended the 2021 festival’s first night. They were criticized for sharing social media posts of the event, despite later claiming they did not know what was happening at the time.
The criticism intensified in 2023 when images surfaced showing Kylie reusing the Astroworld-themed large inflatable head – resembling Scott’s infamous festival landmark – for Stormi’s birthday party.
Social media users called the decor “disturbing,” “tone-deaf,” and “insensitive” in light of the deaths. Following the release of the new documentary, one said they were disappointed there wasn’t more talk about the Jenner/Kardashian family.
When one asked why, another replied, “Among other things, Kylie also had an Astroworld-themed birthday party in 2023. Many felt there was no reason for Kylie to hold onto that theme given the tragedy that took place.”
A third explained, “Kylie Jenner has two kids with Travis Scott, and the Kardashians were investors in the Circus Maximus tour. There was a lot of discourse at the time about their silence after the tragedy. Whether it interests you or not, they were a public-facing facet of the incident.”
Outcome of the lawsuits
Text at the end of Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy explains, “In 2023, a Houston grand jury found that no individual was criminally responsible for the deaths at Astroworld.
“All ten wrongful death lawsuits against Live Nation, Travis Scott, and other defendants have been settled out of court for undisclosed amounts.”
Live Nation and Scott continue to collaborate together, with the former currently selling tickets for upcoming concerts in the UK, South Africa, South Korea, and Japan.
The management company also shared a statement with the producers of Trainwreck, which reads, “The sellable capacity for the venue was set by SMG Global and approved by the Houston Fire Department before tickets went on sale.
“The number of tickets sold, and attendees on site did not exceed the approved capacity. HFD, SMG Global, and the Houston Police Department were aware of the event plans, which were developed in line with safety codes.
“The Festival Safety & Risk Director and HPD representatives agreed to and executed an early show stop.”
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