Travis Scott performs onstage during the third annual Astroworld Festival at NRG Park on November 05. Photo / Getty Images
Travis Scott performs onstage during the third annual Astroworld Festival at NRG Park on November 05. Photo / Getty Images
The family of the youngest victim of the Astroworld Festival tragedy has rejected an offer from Travis Scott to pay for their son's funeral expenses.
Nine-year-old Ezra Blount died on November 14 after suffering injuries during Scott's deadly Astroworld performance.
Blount died after being placed in a medically induced coma due to severe damage to his vital organs. The injuries were caused after he was reportedly trampled during a crowd surge during the November 5 show.
Treston Blount, the father of Ezra, attended Astroworld with Ezra on his shoulders. When the crowd surged and got too packed together, Treston says he passed out, resulting in his son falling to the ground where he was trampled by the out-of-control crowd.
He was is the youngest of the 10 victims who died as a result of the concert.
In a letter to Scott's lawyer Daniel Petrocelli from the Blount family's lawyer Robert Hilliard it is made clear that Scott's offer to cover the funeral expenses is being "declined", according to Fox News who obtained the letter.
Fans during 2021 Astroworld Festival at NRG Park on November 05. Photo / Getty Images
"I have no doubt Mr Scott feels remorse. His journey ahead will be painful," the letter reads. "He must face and hopefully see that he bears some of the responsibility for this tragedy. There may be, and I hope there is, redemption and growth for him on the other side of what this painful process will be."
One day after Ezra's funeral, the family was contacted by Petrocelli who offered to pay for the expenses on behalf of the rapper.
"Travis is devastated by the tragedy that occurred at the Astroworld Festival and grieves for the families whose loved ones died or were injured. Travis is committed to doing his part to help the families who have suffered and begin the long process of healing in the Houston community. Toward that end, Travis would like to pay for the funeral expenses for Mr Blount's son," the letter reads.
Petrocelli also stated that accepting the funeral money would not impact any legal proceedings, but the Blount family still opted to decline the offer and asked instead for Scott to "respect" that his "devastation" he feels over the tragedy does not compare to the loss of the family's 9-year-old son.
The lawyer added that the pain the family is experiencing is comparable to "a faucet of unimaginable pain that has no off handle".
"As a parent, Treston cannot help but agonise over the terrible idea that Ezra's last minutes were filled with terror, suffering, suffocation and worst of all surrounded by strangers, his dad unconscious underneath the uncontrolled crowd," Hilliard's letter said.
He also told Rolling Stone that the family had previously rejected offers from Scott who wanted to meet with them personally.
"We were pretty firm. With all due respect, no. This isn't a photo-op story here. This is a 'who's responsible and why' type of investigation. And he's on the shortlist," he said.
Scott was performing at the music festival he founded when the crowd reportedly surged. It resulted in 10 people dying and many more being injured. The rapper has since been named in several lawsuits from those who were injured or from the families of those who died as a result of the show, including one from the Blount family.
