Drake has requested that he be removed from the ongoing Astroworld litigation in the Texas courts. A new legal filing argues that the musician has "no recognised legal duty" in relation to the 2021 music festival where ten people died and hundreds more were injured during a crowd surge.
Appearing on stage for just fourteen minutes during Astroworld founder Travis Scott's headline set, Drake "did not organise, promote, plan or participate in the organisation, promotion or planning of the festival", the legal filing states. Nor did he "hire, contract, employ, supervise, direct or control any concert organisers, promoters, planners, premises personnel or security for the festival".
Indeed, Drake didn't even have a contract for - or receive any payment from - his guest spot. "[Drake] did not execute any agreement or contract relating to his surprise guest appearance", the court papers explain, "[he] had no contractual duties relating to the festival and was not compensated for his surprise appearance".
Hundreds of lawsuits involving more than 2500 people were filed following the Astroworld crowd surge tragedy, which occurred during Scott's headline set at the Houston, Texas festival. Some of the families of those who died have settled, but the majority of the cases continue to work their way through the system, having been grouped into one big round of litigation.
The main defendants in the lawsuits are Scott and his festival's promoters, Live Nation and its Scoremore subsidiary. However, other people and companies involved in the event have also been named as defendants in some of the cases. Drake says that less than half of the plaintiffs have included him as a defendant, based on his appearance during Scott's set. But, given his limited connection to the festival, all and any claims against him personally should be dismissed.
The new legal filing also sets out Drake's involvement in the festival. "On the evening of 5 Nov", it explains, "[Drake] arrived at the venue at approximately 7.30pm and remained largely secluded backstage in a trailer until approximately 9.54pm. At approximately 9:54pm, he was informed to take the stage. He immediately took the stage as requested, performed for approximately fourteen minutes, and then exited the stage at 10.08pm".
Police had already declared a 'mass casualty event' at 9.40pm as a result of the crowd surge, before Drake took to the stage. However, the legal filing states, he "was never informed by any person, including any festival personnel or security, at any time, of injuries to concertgoers, or that he was to perform for a limited time or less time than he had originally planned".
Three other companies involved in Astroworld that have been named as defendants in some of the lawsuits have also asked to be removed. They are security companies Contemporary Services Corporation and Apex Security Group Inc, and medical services provider ParaDocs Worldwide Inc.