Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Travis Scott, Netflix, Houston, Streaming, US News, Film and TV
Liv Bridge
Topics: Travis Scott, Netflix, Houston, Streaming, US News, Film and TV
Netflix viewers have described a new documentary which contains real cellphone footage from the Astroworld tragedy as 'crazy' and 'sickening'.
Back in November 2021, Houston, Texas, braced itself for the third return of its Astroworld music festival with around 50,000 music fans.
Organized by Live Nation and hosted by Houston-born rapper, Travis Scott, the festival promised to be bigger and better than the two before, after the Covid-19 pandemic cancelled the show in 2020.
However, what transpired ended up being one of the worst concert tragedies in US history.
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Disturbing footage came to light hours after the show, which showed the crowds pushing and crushing through the barriers at NRG Park as Scott took to the stage.
The stampede subsequently meant 10 people tragically lost their lives, aged between nine and 27, and more than 300 were treated for injuries.
Now, Netflix has brought the story back into public consciousness with its new documentary anthology series.
Trainwreck examines some of the most 'gripping, bizarre and horrifying' events - like Woodstock '99 and the infamous 'poop cruise' - as told from the first-hand accounts of those who lived through them.
Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy was the first to land on the streaming platform on June 10 and dropped some bombshell revelations.
“I believe Astroworld 2021 was not an accident,” crowd safety expert Scott Davidson says in the documentary. "It was an inevitability due to the lack of foresight and the abandonment of basic safety protocols.”
The footage shows how crowds compromised safety barriers and entrances to run through to the concert, while the authorities failed to gain control of the 'overwhelming chaos'.
Survivors spoke about how they struggled to breathe in the countdown to Scott's appearance - which exacerbated when he came to the stage and the crowd surged.
"The music started playing, and you just felt your whole body move forward," recalled another survivor. "And then the wave comes back."
The issues explored in the documentary include the event's capacity and poor crowd-to-staff ratio - with experts determining a max should have been set at 35,000, yet almost double that amount of tickets were sold and countless more bypassed barriers.
It also exposes the poor layout of the venue - and according to alleged leaked texts, Live Nation employees were aware of safety issues before Scott took to the stage.
The rapper started his set at 9.02pm, and a Live Nation employee allegedly sent the following text at 9pm: "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. 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 didn’t advise this to continue. Someone’s going to end up dead.”
Scott paused his set once to point out someone in the crowd needed help and continued performing, with his set ending 15 to 20 minutes earlier than advertised.
He has said he was unaware of what was happening in the crowd.
In the days and months that followed, the festival's organizers were accused of running roughshod over the early warning signs and the performers themselves, including Scott and rapper Drake, were also on the receiving end of some finger pointing.
In the documentary, cellphone footage compiled from countless fans shows people were falling to the ground and were being trampled on, while others took to climbing infrastructure and speaker towers to escape the death trap.
Others also rushed to camera operators to demand they stopped filming as one man could be seen shouting at the operator: "Stop the show!"
Years after the disaster, a Houston grand jury determined no one was criminally responsible for the deaths in 2023 and all 10 lawsuits have since been settled out of court for undisclosed amounts.
In response to the episode, Live Nation issued a statement to Netflix about the allegations, stating the capacity was set by SMG Global and the Houston Fire Department and that 'attendees on site did not exceed approved capacity.'
"The Festival Safety & Risk Director and HPD representatives agreed to and executed an early show stop," it added.
Taking to Reddit, dozens of viewers say they had 'chills' and were left shaken to the core by the show.
"I thought the doc was really well done. It’s crazy how much cell phone footage they have of how crazy the crowd became," said one, who also queried if the documentary could 'stir' it all back up again for organizers and Scott.
"I'm glad survivors and families got to speak but I wanted an investigation on how it went down, looking at all the departments, looking at security and they just kinda wrapped it up quickly," another viewer commented.
A third chimed: "I was BLOWN AWAY by the camera footage from the people at the show. I couldn’t catch my breath watching so I cannot imagine living it. People f**king DIED and no one got any repercussions…. That’s sickening."
A fourth said the were left with 'chills' after footage shows a mass of shoes abandoned on the park grounds after the show.
"It made me cry, what a terrifying situation. But I feel like there was so much more they could have went into, and could have made it a three-part series," another agreed.