Travis Scott's Major Donation After The Astroworld Tragedy Is Turning Heads
Travis Scott is giving back. The rapper has not released any music or performed live following the Astroworld music festival tragedy on November 5, 2021, where 10 audience members died from trampling and asphyxiation during a crowd rush, per The Guardian. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Scott released a statement saying he was "devastated" about the loss of life and never imagined the "severity of the situation" while adding he'd do his best to aid officials in the investigation (via Complex). However, friends and family of the deceased were not receptive of Scott's apologies, with thousands having filed nearly 400 lawsuits against him, Live Nation, and other organizers, according to Billboard. The suits in total seek billions in damages.
For his part, Scott — who has had a history of encouraging violence and reckless behavior at his concerts — has denied any legal liability and requested to have some of the lawsuits to be thrown out, according to BuzzFeed News. As the world waits for the legal proceedings to begin, Scott has announced a major donation for communities in need.
Travis Scott hopes to use his wealth to make a difference in communities
Travis Scott is giving back to communities in a big way by setting up a multi-tier fund that aims to support students, creatives, and even concertgoers. According to TMZ, Scott has donated $5 million to a self-created initiative called Project HEAL, which a portion of that will be put towards HBCU scholarships to help Black scholars reach their academic goals. Other money will go towards other ventures like mental health programs for children, as well as creative design projects through his Cactus Jack Foundation.
The eyebrow raising part of Project HEAL, however, is Scott's pledge to keep audiences safe at concerts moving forward. TMZ notes that Scott will distribute money to the U.S. Conference of Mayor's Task Force on Event Safety in hopes that what happened at Astroworld can be prevented in the future.
Scott's philanthropic effort comes after Kanye "Ye" West claimed that Scott would be performing with him at Coachella in April, per Pitchfork. However, Scott has not commented on West's claims amid the "Eazy" rapper's feud with Billie Eilish. Scott also recently welcomed a son with Kylie Jenner.