Drake was exonerated from a lawsuit that revolved around the rapper's alleged role in the tragic 2021 Astroworld event. According to court documents obtained by USA TODAY Thursday, Drake was removed from the case in an order handed down on Wednesday. Drake had previously tried to have the lawsuit against the music event organized by Travis Scott, which he co-founded, dropped in March.
Court officials in the 11th civil district of Harris County agreed with Drake's request for a summary judgment and rejected "all claims asserted against defendant (Drake) by all plaintiffs and intervenors in this multidistrict litigation," as stated in the filing.
Documents obtained by USA TODAY from the court show that on Monday, the requests for dismissal of other defendants, such as Scott's company Cactus Jack Enterprises and Apple, were denied. Scott performed at the Astroworld festival in Houston, Texas, and his set was streamed on Apple Music.
As reported by Billboard and the Houston Chronicle, Drake's legal team allegedly contended in a March 8 filing that the "Slime You Out" emcee was unaware of any safety issues regarding the festival's participants prior to his performance and had no involvement in its organizing.
"Mr. Graham did not receive any security briefings, was not informed of any crowd control issues, injuries or deaths in the crowd, or any stop show orders at any time either before or during his 14-minute performance," according to Drake's lawyers at the time.
Soon after the Astroworld concert, Drake—who surprised fans by performing alongside Scott—issued a statement in which he described the incident as a "devastating tragedy." In an Instagram post, the rapper revealed that he had "spent the past few days trying to wrap my mind around this."
"I hate resorting to this platform to express an emotion as delicate as grief but this is where I find myself," he said. "My heart is broken for the families and friends of those who lost their lives and for anyone who is suffering."
He ended his remarks by promising to be of assistance and to continue praying for everyone involved. "May God be with you all." Master P., Toro y Moi, Roddy Ricch, and SZA were among the other artists who performed at Astroworld.
stay turned for development