Two security guards who worked Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival in Houston are suing two weeks after a brutal crowd rush at the concert killed 10 people and injured hundreds of others, including the guards.
Samuel and Jackson Bush, an uncle and nephew who worked the fest on Nov. 5th, told reporters during a press conference Monday that they both sustained injuries trying to help concertgoers during the crowd surge. Samuel, who says he was trampled multiple times, broke his hand and hurt his back, while Jackson hurt his shoulder.
The two have named 28 people and corporations in their suit, including Scott and his label Cactus Jack Records, Astroworld promoters Live Nation and ScoreMore, venue NRG Park, and security companies Contemporary Services Corp and AJ Melino & Associates, the latter of which hired the Bushes to work the concert. Samuel and Jackson Bush claim AJ Melino & Associates took very few measures to prepare its contracted employees for the chaos that ensued.
The suit alleges that the company didn’t issue background checks to ensure guards were qualified for the task, and the company didn’t supply any training to do their jobs. They reportedly weren’t given walkie-talkies and couldn’t communicate with their superiors as the crowd surge began. Jackson Bush says they were given no instruction before starting other than to show up to the concert site dressed in black.
“For the most part, they told us where to stand, not to let people run in, and to be safe and not to put our hands on anybody,” Jackson Bush said during a press conference. “There was no training.”
The two also say they’re still owed money from the security company for their work on the festival. AJ Melino & Associates didn’t immediately reply to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment. “You’d think it’d take more than signing your name,” the Bushes’ lawyer Larry Taylor said. “It was as simple as you and I walking on the other side of this gate.”
The lawsuit is one of hundreds filed by Astroworld attendees who say the event left them with injuries and psychological trauma. Live Nation and Scott have been named in multiple suits totaling billions of dollars in potential damages.
The Bushes aren’t the first security guards who’ve said publicly they felt security companies didn’t prepare them enough for how to handle the event. Darius Williams, a security worker contracted by Contemporary Services Corporation, told Rolling Stone he felt the company rushed to get workers without ensuring they were qualified and prepared for the event.
He left his post before Travis Scott performed, fearing for his own safety. “If you look at my resume, I only have hospitality and retail experience,” Williams said. “It felt like they just needed bodies, like they were hiring anyone who passed a background test.”
NEWS
Dolly Parton is sharing a heartfelt message of appreciation for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
The country music legend posted a video on Instagram on Friday, July 3, thanking the global pop star and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end for their generous $2 million gift to her Imagination Library, the literacy initiative that sends free books to children.
Earlier this week, ahead of their Fourth of July wedding celebrations, Swift and Kelce announced $26 million in charitable donations benefiting organizations throughout the United States. Among the recipients were the Grammy Museum Foundation, New York Cares, Harvesters in Kansas City, and Parton's Imagination Library.
“Taylor and Travis, it’s Dolly,” Parton said in the video. “I just found out that the two of you are donating $2 million to my Imagination Library. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I am absolutely overwhelmed and so grateful.”
She continued, “It is so clear that giving back is something that truly matters to both of you. So, when you have your first born, can I have it? Because that is going to be one very special baby!”
Parton also spoke about the purpose behind her Dollywood Foundation, explaining that its mission is to “dream more, care more, learn more, and be more.” She added that Swift and Kelce’s donation will help expand that mission and allow it to reach even more people.
To wrap up her message, Parton treated the couple to a short performance of her beloved 1974 hit, “I Will Always Love You.”
News of Swift and Kelce’s combined $26 million in charitable giving first emerged earlier this week. On Thursday, July 2, the 14 time Grammy Award winner’s spokesperson released a list of the organizations selected to receive donations from the engaged couple.
Several of the charities are based in communities that have played important roles in Swift and Kelce’s lives, including Reading, Pennsylvania, and Cleveland, their hometowns, along with Nashville and Kansas City, where each built their career. They also contributed to a number of organizations in New York City ahead of their wedding celebration, which is scheduled to take place on Friday, July 3, at Madison Square Garden.
