Hulu 'Astroworld Concert From Hell' documentary controversy explained
2 December 2021, 12:23
Travis Scott makes statement after tragic deaths at Astroworld Festival
Last night, Hulu dropped a documentary on Travis Scott’s festival called ‘Astroworld: Concert from Hell’ and people were not happy about it
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Hulu have come under fire after the release for a new documentary series that covered the Astroworld incident was released.
Travis Scott spotted with Mark Wahlberg in first public outing since Astroworld tragedy
The documentaries synopsis which reads "Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival was supposed to be the concert of a lifetime but it turned into a tragic nightmare. A minute-by-minute look at what happened in the crowd, the young victims who were killed, and what happens next" has had people raging on social media calling it insensitive and tasteless.
Focusing on the crowd surge, which happened on November 5 that left 10 people dead and over 300 injured, the documentary defends Kylie Jenner and Travis who “didn’t know what was going on” and who sounded “so sincere” about how distraught Travis was.
More than 50,000 people attended the sold-out festival were reports of people without tickets jumping fences and turn styles and avoiding metal detectors resulted in several deaths.
This lead to audiences compressing towards the front of the stage, causing shortness of breath, cardiac arrest and several injuries. This happened when Drake made an unexpected appearance during Travis Scott's headlining set.
After the documentary went live on the Hulu app and website, people instantly took to social media to shame Hulu for making a documentary less than three weeks after the incident calling it disrespectful the families of the victims.
One person wrote: "Can’t believe I’m waking up to see @hulu with an Astroworld documentary. That’s outright disrespectful to the victims and people who lived through this. They’ve definitely lost a viewer for a while, with some other good shows coming out soon".
Another commented: "hulu profiting off astroworld by creating a documentary when there’s still people in hospital on life support after it is such a sickening move".
Filming a series about #ASTROWORLD in the midst of tragedy is wildly insensitive. Families are still mourning, festival-goers are still traumatized, and some victims haven't even been laid to rest yet. ABC and HULU saw their trauma as a cash grab. Cold world.🤦🏾♂️
— Da Kid Gowie (@DaKidGowie) December 2, 2021
Astroworld victims haven’t been put in the ground yet, and the media already has a special on Hulu. 🤢 We are in hell
— Nielcen Saint-Jean (@PrinceAkeem_845) December 2, 2021
Hulu making a documentary about Astroworld is in poor taste all around.
— Petty Slimane (@LilAioli) December 2, 2021
People are still burying their loved ones. The legal cases haven’t even started.
Great documentaries are done when all the facts are laid out. Not enough time has passed to fully discuss this.
Me trying to figure out how Hulu made a whole astroworld series in 3 weeks pic.twitter.com/b5x2AdPT3Q
— Pizza Dad (@Pizza__Dad) December 2, 2021
The Astroworld: Concert from Hell doc on Hulu puts blame on concert goers ‘not caring’-no type of structural analysis & they didnt interview the RN who said medics there were undertrained, under staffed & HPD was useless. Shit seemed directed by Live Nation/Travis Scott himself😩
— Solidarity w/Ayiti🇭🇹 (@KimCommie) December 1, 2021
Since the backlash, the documentary has been taken down from the streaming service with Hulu now backtracking on the decision to put out a documentary.
It's now being reported that half of the victims families have rejected Travis' funeral cost offer. A lawyer for the family of 14-year-old John Hilgert called the gesture 'demeaning and inappropriate'.
"Of all the things this case is about, that's the least of any concern," he told Rolling Stone. "This family is set on making change, and ensuring this never happens at a concert again."
Since the incident, both Travis Scott and Drake have released statements speaking on the tragedy.
Posting a emotional video on his IG story addressing the tragedy, the lives lost at the festivals and criticism that he refused to stop the show Travis said:
"Anytime I could make out, you know, anything that’s going on, you know, I stop the show and, you know, help them get the help they need".
He added that 'he’s working with authorities to try to get to the bottom of this' stating “I’m honestly just devastated, and I could never imagine anything like this happening. My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival".
Drake took to Instagram to share his first statement saying: "I’ve spent the past few days trying to wrap my mind around this devastating tragedy".
He continues: "I hate resorting to this platform to express an emotion as delicate as grief but this is where I find myself. 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".
Travis commented that all tickets from Astroworld 2021 will be refunded and his plans to cover funeral costs for those who died at the festival. He's also teamed up with therapy app BetterHelp to offer one month of free therapy the attendees who had been effected.
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