Kanye West’s decision to pull out of his Rolling Loud Miami headlining set has caused more controversy than anyone expected.
As news spread about Ye’s exit from the festival, and Kid Cudi was announced as his replacement, upset fans wanted Travis Scott to take his place. Rolling Loud founder Tariq Cherif responded in a now-deleted tweet writing, “venue won’t allow travis because of astroworld deaths,” per TMZ.
Cherif never stated specifics on why Hard Rock Stadium would be against Scott performing, but a new artist would require changes in security and insurance. A Rolling Loud spokesperson told TMZ, “All artists are in consideration for the event. But, in this case, each situation had logistical challenges and Travis wasn’t an option for this upcoming week.”
The “Goosebumps” rapper is reportedly a perfectionist when it comes to his stage productions and a week would not be enough time to put together a show he’d find acceptable. He recently returned to the stage with performances at a Miami nightclub, a Coachella after party and the Billboard Music Awards.
In November, while the “Sicko Mode” artist was on stage headlining the Astroworld festival in Houston, a dangerous crowd surge led to 10 deaths and hundreds of injuries. As a result, Scott, Drake, LiveNation, various security companies and promoters are all the subject of multiple lawsuits.
Considering the tragic nature of these events and the fact that these lawsuits are still making their way through the courts, it’s extremely irresponsible of Cherif to mention Astroworld in such a cavalier way. He may have just been responding to other social media comments, but there’s something very uncomfortable about this all suddenly going viral days before the show.
If you’re still interested in watching Rolling Loud Miami, which features headliners Kid Cudi, Future and Kendrick Lamar, the concert will be livestreamed on the festival’s Twitch channel.