Nike hits pause button for Travis Scott Air Max 1 launch due to Astroworld tragedy

By ANI

WASHINGTON: In the wake of the Astroworld Festival tragedy, Nike announced on Monday that it is pausing its collaboration with rapper Travis Scott.

As per People magazine, the popular company would be delaying the release of the Air Max 1 x Cactus Jack shoe “out of respect for everyone impacted by the tragic events at the Astroworld Festival.”

The shoes were initially set to drop on December 16. Nike did not provide additional details on the collaboration.

Scott began collaborating with Nike in 2017 with the release of his first Air Force 1 design. In June 2018, he followed up on the AF-1 with his baby blue Cactus Jack Air Jordan 4 with red accents.

Scott’s other Nike partnerships over the last few years include the Air Jordan 33, the Air Jordan 1, Air Jordan 6, another pair of Air Forces, and the SB Dunk.

Due to a fatal crowd surge at the Astroworld Festival on November 5, ten people died and more than 300 people were injured. At least 36 lawsuits have been filed against Scott and concert organisers over the incident.

The victims have been identified as Ezra Blount, 9, Jacob Jurinek, 21, John Hilgert, 14, Brianna Rodriguez, 16, Franco Patino, 21, Axel Acosta, 21, Rudy Pena, 23, Madison Dubiski, 23, Danish Baig, 27, and Bharti Shahani, 22.

Following the event, Scott posted a series of videos to his Instagram Story on Saturday, saying he was “horrified” by what happened at his show and pledging to help the victims’ families.