Drake convinced a Texas judge to dismiss him from ongoing litigation over the Astroworld tragedy. According to multiple reports, Judge Kristen Hawkins granted Drake’s request to be removed from the civil case on Wednesday (April 10).
The Canadian superstar, whose real name is Aubrey Graham, was named as a defendant in lawsuits filed by Astroworld victims. Drake appeared at Travis Scott’s 2021 festival, which left 10 people dead and hundreds injured.
Drake’s attorneys filed a motion seeking his dismissal from the Astroworld case in March. His legal team argued he had nothing to do with the event’s planning and shouldn’t be held responsible for simply appearing at the festival.
“Mr. Graham did not receive any security briefings, was not informed of any crowd control issues, injuries or deaths in the crowd, or any stop show orders at any time either before or during his 14-minute performance,” his lawyers noted.
They added, “Plaintiffs produce no evidence that Mr. Graham actually knew of any risk in the festival site design and layout, competence or adequacy of festival staffing and personnel, or emergency procedures such as show stop authority.”
Judge Hawkins dismissed Drake, Epic Records and several defendants ahead of the trial, which is scheduled to begin in May. The judge didn’t disclose the reasons for dismissal. Scott and Apple Music, among others, remained defendants in the Astroworld case.
Scott’s attorneys will reportedly argue for his dismissal in court on Monday (April 15). His lawyers claimed he wasn’t responsible for the crowd’s safety.
“No one disputes that tragedy struck the Astroworld Festival,” Scott’s attorneys wrote in a court filing. “But promoting and performing at a concert do not equate to the power to control a crowd or to design a venue safely. Basic tort principles prevent imposing liability on the Scott Defendants for a tragedy arising from forces legally controlled by others.”
A grand jury declined to press criminal charges against Scott in 2023.
