Kylie Jenner releases statement after deleting ‘insensitive’ Astroworld footage

Pregnant Kylie Jenner has made a statement after being slammed for sharing a backstage clip at boyfriend Travis Scott’s concert.

Kylie Jenner has made her first statement after deleting footage she shared from the deadly crowd surge at Astroworld music festival that left at least eight people dead and hundreds injured.

The pregnant reality star was supporting her rapper boyfriend Travis Scott at the opening night of the two-day event in Houston, Texas when chaos broke out among the 50,000 attendees.

Fans “began to compress” towards the front of the stage while Scott was performing, causing mass injuries and leaving many unable to breathe.

Jenner and the couple’s daughter Stormi, 3, are not believed to be among the injured.

Scott has said he is “absolutely devastated” by the turn of events – while Jenner has been slammed online for sharing clips with her 280 million followers from backstage that show the “terrible” scenes.

At least eight people have died attending Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas after crowd surging. Picture: Suzanne Cordeiro / AFP

Pregnant Kylie Jenner was watching backstage with their three-year-old daughter Stormi. Picture: Instagram/KylieJenner

The 24-year-old posted a series of videos to her Instagram story of Scott performing, including one which showed an ambulance making its way through the crowd of concertgoers.

Social media slammed the former Keeping Up With The Kardashians star, branding the move “insensitive”, “disgraceful”, and “alarming”, prompting her to delete all her posts from the horror event.

It was unclear if Jenner knew what was unfolding in the footage she shared but in her statement, she confirmed “we weren’t aware of any fatalities”.

“I want to make it clear we weren’t aware of any fatalities until the news came out after the show and in no world would have continued filming or performing,” she said.

Kylie Jenner posting pics on her IG stories of the EMT trucks driving through the injured crowd is the least surprising thing you’ll see all day. #astro#ASTROFESTpic.twitter.com/cPp0lF0Dsx

— Stephanie Sidley (@StephanieSidley) November 6, 2021

In her first statement via an Instagram Story, Jenner said “Travis and I are broken and devastated.

“My thoughts and prayers are with all who lost their lives, were injured or affected in any way by yesterday’s events.

She also sent thoughts and prayers to Travis “who I know cares deeply for his fans and the Houston community.

“I want to make it clear we weren’t aware of any fatalities until the news came out after the show and in no world would have continued filming or performing.

“I am sending my deepest condolences to all the families during this difficult time and will be praying for the healing of every one who has been impacted.”

Kylie Jenner posts on Instagram after the deadly concert.

Earlier, Scott shared a heartfelt message on Twitter overnight.

“I’m absolutely devastated by what took place last night,” he said.

“My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at the Astroworld Festival.

“Houston PD (Police Department) has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life.

“I am committed to working together with the Houston community to heal and support the families in need. Thank you to Houston PD, Fire Department and NRG Park for their immediate response and support.

“Love you all.”

Heartbreaking footage shows desperate crowd members scaling camera towers begging for help. Picture: TikTok/astroverse007

The incident occurred on Friday night local time, with confronting footage from social media showing fans at the 50,000 strong event being treated by paramedics at the scene.

In one clip, a woman can be seen scaling a camera tower to beg for help, with little response to her desperate pleas.

“There’s someone dead, stop the show,” she can be heard yelling up to the staffer.

When no one responds to her please she then steps onto the platform and screams again while pointing down to the crowd below.

“There’s someone dying in there, there’s someone dying in there.”

a statement from Astroworld’s Twitter account organisers said their “hearts are with the Astroworld Festival family tonight – especially those we lost and their loved ones” and they are “focused on supporting local officials”.

The exact cause of death for those caught up in tragedy is yet to be confirmed.

“We had at least eight confirmed fatalities tonight and scores of individuals that were injured,” Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña told reporters.

“The mass casualty incident was triggered at 9.38 this evening.”

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Originally published as Kylie Jenner releases statement after deleting ‘insensitive’ Astroworld footage