10 people were killed and hundreds injured at Travis Scott’s Astroworld music festival in Houston, Texas, at NRG Park on November 5, 2021 after concertgoers surged toward the stage during the rapper’s headlining set.
To help understand the role that policy plays in shaping events like Astroworld, CNN talked to Gil Fried, a crowd management expert and professor at the University of West Florida.
Dr. Fried brought the example of Eminem how to handle such kind of situation: “Eminem said to the crowd, “Okay, everyone, I’m going to start a new dance with you. Okay? Two steps back, one step forward, two steps back, one step forward.” And he was trying to alleviate the pressure of everyone that was pushed up against the barricade by doing that. And an artist can do that.”
Now, 2002 video of Eminem and Big Proof trying to prevent crowd-crush during the performance of “I’m Back” in DC has resurfaced online. In the video, you can hear Eminem addressing the surfing crowd: “Ayo, DJ, stop it! You gotta quit pushing towards the f**king front or we can not perform. I got police telling me that show is canceling if you all do not stop pushing towards the front. You guys gotta calm the f**k down so we can do the show. Ayo, if you got somebody on the ground in front of you, help them up. We can not continue the show until you chill the f**k out. DC, everybody back the f**k up!”
You can watch the video below:
[VIA]