Drake was reportedly questioned for several hours in a deposition tied to hundreds of lawsuits stemming from 2021’s deadly Astroworld Festival, which claimed 10 lives and led to hundreds of injuries. According to Rolling Stone, sources couldn’t offer any details due to a “rigid publicity order.” A rep for Drake said they “didn’t feel it is appropriate to comment on the matter.”
Drake’s deposition comes after Travis Scott—the organizer and headliner of the festival—spoke with attorneys in early October after plaintiff attorneys filed an emergency motion to compel production of electronic documents on his cell phone.
In September, a lawyer for Scott told the court his client’s phone was lost at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico but added text messages between Scott and his manager, David Stromberg, “would show the vast majority, if not all, relevant texts” from Scott regarding the event. During that hearing, the court and attorneys from both sides determined Scott would have two more days of deposition the following month.
Despite Drake’s brief appearance during Scott’s set, he was still named in many of the lawsuits alongside Scott, Live Nation and its subsidiary Scoremore and Apple, which livestreamed the event. In legal filings, Drake has maintained he didn’t take part in planning or organizing the event.
A grand jury decided not to file criminal charges against Scott and several other organizers tied to the event, however the victims’ families all sued. Three have since settled, and the first wrongful death suit is currently scheduled for trial next May.
Drake did address the tragic turn of events shortly after the incident, writing, “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.”