Kylie Jenner has issued a statement expressing condolences for the victims of the Astroworld festival tragedy while also supporting its founder and her partner, Travis Scott, who has come under criticism for not stopping the show sooner.
Police have said eight people, including one as young as 14, died and scores were injured after a packed and chaotic crowd at the rapper's concert in his hometown of Houston surged towards the stage. The case remains under investigation. Kylie, who is pregnant, attended the show with her and Travis' 3-year-old daughter, Stormi Webster, and sister Kendall Jenner, and all three, who are typically accompanied by bodyguards, were unhurt.
"Travis and I are broken and devastated," Kylie, 24, said in a statement posted on her Instagram Story on Saturday night, Nov. 6. "My thoughts and prayers are with all who lost their lives, were injured or affected in anyway [sic] by yesterday's events. And also for Travis who I know cares deeply for his fans and the Houston community."
She continued, "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 everyone who has been impacted."
Many have criticized Travis, 30, and organizers on social media for not ending the livestreamed concert sooner and in footage posted on social media, attendees can be seen yelling for help and screaming to stop the show. A video reconstruction by The Washington Post shows the concert stopped about an hour after concertgoers were visibly in distress. According to the outlet, Travis paused his set at least four times. As seen in Apple Music's livestream, at one point, he asked security to tend to a passed out guest.
Kylie had posted several videos from the concert on her Instagram Story while it was still going on, and was later heavily criticized on social media over one showing flashing lights from an ambulance cart visible among the tightly packed crowd.
Earlier Saturday, Travis broke his own silence about the tragedy, tweeting that he was "absolutely devastated" by it. He echoed such comments in a video posted on his Instagram Story, adding that he was working to help the families.
Seven of the eight victims have been identified: Brianna Rodriguez, a 16-year-old Houston high school junior; John Hilgert, a 14-year-old ninth grade student who went to a high school in the San Antonio area; Franco Patiño, a 21-year-old senior mechanical engineering student at the University of Dayton in Ohio; Jacob E. Jurinek, a 20-year-old junior at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, who attended the concert with Franco; Rudy Peña, a 23-year-old medical assistant and criminal justice student at Laredo College in Texas; Axel Acosta, a 21-year-old computer science student at Western Washington State; and Danish Baig, 27-year-old man from Euless, Texas who was killed during the crowd rush while trying to save his fiancée, his brother told CNN.
Rapper Roddy Ricch, one of the artists who performed at the festival, said on his Instagram Story early Sunday, Nov. 7, that he would be donating his "net compensation to the families of this incident."