Live Nation Reportedly Pressured Astroworld Staff To Sign Liability Waivers

Live Nation seems to be trying its best to cover its ass legally speaking after Travis Scott‘s Astroworld show left 10 people dead and many injured. Travis, Live Nation, and Drake–who performed during the show–have been named in billions of dollars worth of lawsuits. Both Travis and the concert promoters continue to decline responsibility, and Live Nation appears to be mitigating the number of people who can sue them because Rolling Stone got their hands on a new contract that was sent out to people who worked the event. And it basically says: “Remember, you can’t sue us for emotional or physical damage!” But baby, it’s far too late for that.

A part-time worker tells Rolling Stone that he’s still messed up hard from the concert, and spoke anonymously about his time at Astroworld and what happened afterward. 9-year-old Ezra Blount was the tenth and youngest victim of the concert and died nine days after the Astroworld tragedy. Hours after Ezra died, the anonymous employee says an email coincidentally went out to the part-time staff who worked the event. Described as “peppy” and “filled with exclamation points” it came from a manager representing Live Nation and its subsidiary Scoremore, telling staff that they needed to sign the new contract attached in order to get their $7.50 an hour. The first contract the employees signed was repurposed from a 2018 document and still had the wrong date at the top of it. So a new contract was sent out and it included a liability waiver:

“Hoping to wrap up payroll and get everyone paid ASAP but I still need a few things from some of you!” the manager with an @astroworldfest.com email address wrote. “The first agreement included details from 2018. It has been updated so if you can resign and send back.”

…The revised contract, obtained by Rolling Stone, names the concert’s promoters as Scoremore Holdings, Live Nation Worldwide and XX Global. It includes stringent language the promoters likely wanted to ensure was ironclad and binding in the aftermath of the deadly tragedy.

“(Employee) assumes full responsibility for any injuries or damages that may occur to the (employee) in, on or about the festival and its premises and fully and forever releases and discharges the released parties from any and all claims, demands, damages, rights of action or causes of action resulting from or arising out of the (employee’s) attending and or providing services at the festival,” it states.

The contract says employees who sign it agree that they’re “not covered nor eligible for any employee benefits or insurance coverage provided by the released parties including but not limited to medical, property and liability insurance and workers compensation benefits.” It also states that the employee is agreeing to “mandatory binding arbitration of all disputes.”

The part-time employee says that he refused to sign the new contract and felt they were saying “You need to sign this new form in order to get paid,” and “they wanted legal coverage.” The employee says that on the night of the festival, he was allowed to watch the show after his shift but quickly found himself getting crushed in the surge:

He ended up in the crowd surge in the general admission area close to the stage near the raised VIP section, he said. “When Travis came out, the crowd just got wilder and wilder. The pushes were more intense. It was bad, just bad. You’d look over and see people falling and getting trampled,” he said. “You would look in people’s eyes, and the excitement you saw before had turned to fear. It was just wide eyes and people trying to stay up and breathe.” He recalled seeing “just a pile of bodies right in front of the VIP section.”

“People were on the floor,” he said. “I was getting pushed up against that pile. Somebody on the floor grabbed my leg, and I was like, “This can’t be happening.” I was just focused on staying alive. It was hell on earth.”

The part-time employee said eventually someone helped him regain his footing and he managed to work his way back out of the mayhem. He said he was never given a walkie-talkie, only a phone number for one of the team leaders. Cell service was nearly non-existent.

Since that night, he’s sought out mental health counseling, he tells Rolling Stone.“I keep picturing myself falling back into the pile, the people screaming. I just keep replaying it. It definitely shook me up,” he said. “I’m no stranger to death in my life, but seeing it right there in front of me like that, I definitely don’t see myself being in large crowds like that ever again.”

I’m amazed that Live Nation’s exclamation-filled email wasn’t enough to immediately get all these underpaid part-time staff members to jump at the opportunity to waive away their ability to sue! I’m going to assume most of these workers are on the younger side, so maybe Live Nation should have worded it more millennial-friendly? They could’ve been like: “I know it’s a bit sus, but it would be amazing if you could sign this new contract releasing us from being legally responsible for all the trauma. Thanks, bestie!”

Pic: Wenn.com