HOUSTON (AP) – Several families of the 10 people who died from injuries in a massive crowd surge of fans at the Astroworld festival have turned down an offer by headliner Travis Scott to pay for their loved ones’ funeral costs. Attorneys for the families of four of the victims said Tuesday that they had received a letter from Scott’s attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, in which the offer to pay for funeral costs was made. In a letter to the attorneys for the father of 9-year-old Ezra Blount, Petrocelli wrote that Scott “grieves for the families whose loved ones died or were injured.” The attorney for Ezra’s father declined the offer, saying Scott must see “that he bears some of the responsibility for this tragedy.”
Michael Lyons, an attorney for the family of 27-year-old Mirza “Danish” Baig, said he viewed the offer to pay for funeral costs partly as a public relations ploy by Scott to “soften people up” in the court of public opinion. Baig’s family declined the offer, he said.
“Sadly, for my clients, a check from Travis Scott … is not going to relieve the pain and suffering that they presently are experiencing,” Lyons said. “I think it will only make it worse.”
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