In the 2019 documentary “Travis Scott: Look Mom I Can Fly,” an unidentified member of Travis Scott’s entourage explains to security and other tour personnel just how chaotic crowds can get at the rapper’s shows. Kids push up against the gate separating them from the stage, he says, and “the pressure becomes very great up against the barricade.” He pauses. “You will see a lot of crowd surfers in general, but also you see a lot of kids who are just trying to get out to safety because they can’t breathe — ‘cause it’s so compact. You won’t know how bad it can be with our crowd until we turn on.”
The scene, which is featured in the first few minutes of the Netflix documentary, offers a window into the mayhem that had been known to unfold at Scott’s shows before one of the rapper’s concerts turned deadly last week. At least eight people were killed following a crowd surge at the rapper’s Astroworld Festival in his hometown of Houston on Friday night. An estimated 50,000 people attended the show, and in its aftermath, crowd control experts have warned that such incidents can occur at large gatherings and that event organizers need to be prepared.
“Look Mom I Can Fly,” directed by White Trash Tyler and produced by Scott, explores Scott’s childhood and rise to fame following his 2014 breakout. The film also documents the moment Scott (born Jacques Webster) became a father to Stormi Webster, the 3-year-old he shares with Kylie Jenner. But the chaotic atmosphere at his concerts — often encouraged by the rapper, who has faced legal trouble over at least two of his shows — also emerges as a prevailing theme.
Another early scene depicts the tumultuous few minutes following Scott’s 2017 performance in Rogers, Ark., where he was arrested on charges (unmentioned in the documentary) of disorderly conduct, inciting a riot and endangering the welfare of a child. An Associated Press report, citing police, said Scott had “encouraged people to bypass security and rush the stage, resulting in injuries to a security guard, a police officer and several others.” Scott later pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, according to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which reported the rapper paid $6,825.31 in restitution to two people who were injured at the concert.
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The documentary features reactions from concertgoers who praise Scott even as they recount being in danger. “I survived,” a man with a cast on his foot says. “It’s all good.” Another attendee happily declares: “I thought I was gonna die in your … show.” As Scott is driven away from the Benton County sheriff’s office, he says he feels “bad” after hearing “about kids getting hurt.” But, he adds, “I just hate getting arrested, man. That … is whack.”
Scott was previously charged with disorderly conduct after a 2015 appearance at Chicago’s Lollapalooza, during which his set was cut short after he encouraged attendees to break a barricade and rush the stage. “Look Mom I Can Fly” features a montage of moments in which Scott actively encourages concertgoers to flout security protocols. “Hey, yo security. You don’t tell a fan to not turn up at a motherf---ing tour,” he says during one tour stop. “Get away from him.”
Another scene finds Scott ordering security to bring back an attendee who was being thrown out, though the concertgoer’s actions are not detailed on film. “Security, stop being party poopers,” Scott said. “These people just want to have fun.”
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“No … Travis Scott fan ever gets kicked out,” he says before crowd-surfing next to a man who raps along to “Antidote.” As the song hits a climax, Scott encourages the man to jump farther into the crowd.
Scott has been heavily criticized as videos posted to social media show him continuing his show on Friday as panicked concertgoers tried to divert his attention to the injured. It’s unclear if Scott, who paused the show several times so medical personnel could help concertgoers, understood how dire the situation was from onstage, where he was wearing in-ear monitors. Jenner, who shared footage of the concert in her Instagram stories, was criticized for including video of an ambulance struggling to make its way through the crowd. Jenner said in an Instagram story early Sunday that she and Scott “weren’t aware of any fatalities until the news came out after the show.”
Share this articleShare“Look Mom I Can Fly” features scenes from the 2018 Lollapalooza show — which coincided with the release of his acclaimed album “Astroworld” — during which Scott stops the concert, pleading with the crowd to “open up” so security can get help for two men who appear to be unconscious. People in the massive crowd lift and pass one man toward the opening. Scott, perched on a tall riser, points to another man in need of help: “There’s one more right here.”
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As medical personnel carry someone off on a stretcher, Scott tells the crowd to give him a “thumbs up if we good.” “If we good, let me get a ‘hell yeah,’” he says as the music begins to play again. Mere seconds pass before the lights dim and pyrotechnics resume.
As the film documents Scott’s inaugural Astroworld Festival — designed to pay homage to the defunct amusement park the rapper frequented as a child — viewers witness crowd-control issues similar to those described by attendees of Friday’s show. One scene depicts staffers at Houston’s NRG Park interlocking arms as Scott fans attempt to break the gate blocking their entrance to the venue, which also served as the location for this year’s festival. One woman appears to pray for her safety.
Experts have said such incidents necessitated a robust crowd control plan at Friday’s show, where attendees reported crowds breaking down barricades. “What’s unique in this situation is that there was prior notice,” a Houston trial lawyer specializing in catastrophic personal injury cases told The Post over the weekend. “This wasn’t a split-second situation like a sudden stage collapse.”
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Officials have launched a criminal investigation into the deaths and disorder at this year’s Astroworld Festival. Meanwhile, Scott and festival organizers face mounting lawsuits from concertgoers. On Monday, Scott said in a statement that he will cover all funeral costs for the eight victims who died and will “provide further aid for individuals affected by the November 5th tragedy.”
According to the statement, the rapper is also partnering with digital therapy platform BetterHelp and other mental health organizations including NAMI (National Alliance of Mental Illness) to help attendees obtain mental health services.
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