A Texas attorney has filed a lawsuit seeking $2 billion on behalf of more than 200 alleged victims who attended the Astroworld festival tragedy, TMZ reports.
Ten people have now died and hundreds of others were injured during a mass crowd surge during Travis Scott's performance on the opening night of the festival on November 5.
The 30-year-old rapper and organizers of the deadly concert have faced a string of lawsuits in the last couple of weeks - but none seeking quite as much as that submitted by lawyer Thomas J. Henry.
The defendants in Henry's lawsuit include Scott, who founded the festival, fellow rapper Drake, Live Nation, Apple Music, and NRG Stadium. The suit was filed on behalf of the attorney's 282 clients.
Henry said in a statement: "The defendants stood to make an exorbitant amount of money off of this event, and they still chose to cut corners, cut costs, and put attendees at risk.
"My clients want to ensure the defendants are held responsible for their actions, and they want to send the message to all performers, event organizers, and promoters that what happened at Astroworld cannot happen again."
In an interview with Hollywood Life, Henry spoke out about some of the medical scares and injuries his clients allegedly sustained, including heart attacks, brain injuries, and broken bones.
He said: "Those who were injured are still very traumatized because they had to step over dead bodies. They didn’t have a choice because there was nowhere to move. These people were trapped… They couldn’t breathe. They couldn’t get out."
In the legal filing, Henry claimed that Apple Music, one of the defendants named in the suit, played a "critical role in the crowd-control disaster", per Rolling Stone.
"Early reports from the investigation of the Astroworld catastrophe indicate that the premises were arranged in a fashion that best served Apple’s online streaming of the concert at the detriment to concertgoer safety," the suit reads.
Scott had previously promised to cover the funeral costs of the Astroworld victims, and his reps released a statement asking families of the victims to get in contact via email.
His team stated that the rapper is "distraught by the situation and desperately wishes to share his condolences and provide aid" to those affected by the incident.
Drake also released a statement following the deadly festival, which read: "My heart is broken for the families and friends of those who lost their lives and for anyone who is suffering.
"I will continue to pray for all of them, and will be of service in any way I can, may God be with you all."
