Within minutes of the teaser dropping for the new film Rolling Loud The Movie, fans noticed a glaring 'tone deaf' problem with the plot. Inspired by a true story, Owen Wilson stars as a dad who attempts to bond with his 13-year-old son by sneaking him into the Rolling Loud festival.
Plot and Cast
Netflix star Christian Convery plays the teen, Zion, who goes missing in the huge crowds as his father frantically searches for him, getting into various scrapes along the way. Matt Rife, Christine Ko, Henry Winkler, Sexyy Red, and Ty Dolla Sign round out the cast, with Travis Scott taking a central role as the festival headliner. The movie was partly filmed at the real 2024 Rolling Loud Miami festival, where the Franchise rapper performed and brought the Cars icon on stage with him.
Backlash Over Travis Scott Casting
Immediately after the trailer dropped, viewers pointed out that casting Travis, 35, as the headliner was in poor taste after the Astroworld Festival disaster. Travis can be seen in the trailer hanging out with Owen's character backstage, giving the panicked dad advice about being a father and finding his son. 'This might be the most tone deaf casting we have ever seen, like almost offensively tone deaf, tbh,' wrote MissSassbox on X. 'The plot being about sneaking into a show to see the same man who[se show] famously had a mass casualty incident after people snuck into his show…right..right……..' added Emileeannf. 'Idk if this is a good movie to have Travis Scott in,' agreed 9primis, as more comments asked if they 'forgot' about Astroworld.
Astroworld Tragedy
On November 5, 2021, a fatal crowd crush occurred at the Houston festival founded by Travis, who was also the headliner. Problems began the second the festival opened at 10am, as the audience rushed forward with an unknown number of people breaching the gate. A security guard and four more people were injured at this time, with hundreds injured later during the performance crush. Throughout the day, the 50,000-strong crowd breached areas, including VIP, and those at the barricades became injured in crushes. When the Sicko Mode rapper took to the stage, 20 minutes late, the crowd surged forward, resulting in a fatal crush despite fans chanting 'stop the show'. Ten concertgoers died, with the youngest fatality a nine-year-old boy who died in hospital after falling from his dad's shoulders and being placed in a coma. His dad told ABC13 Houston at the time: 'I could tell that he was damaged. I'm not ready to lose my boy at all. We still got a bunch of living to do … That's my boy.'
Aftermath and Reactions
The day after, Travis posted on X to say he was 'absolutely devastated' by what happened, claiming he was unaware of the 'severity of the situation'. Hundreds of lawsuits were filed against the rapper, Live Nation (whose studio is connected to the new film) and others involved in the event, but it was later ruled that he would not be indicted. Live Nation settled the 10 wrongful death lawsuits and almost 100 other claims, including injuries and emotional distress, before going to trial in 2024. Some viewers felt this film was 'rubbing Astroworld in our faces', and that the choice to include Travis was 'genuinely bewildering'. Travis has addressed the Astroworld disaster, telling GQ in 2023 that he feels a 'constant weight' on his heart, adding: 'I always think about it. Those fans were like my family.'
Travis Scott's Response
The rapper, who shares two children with Kylie Jenner, continued: 'I was just overly devastated. It has its moments where it gets rough and…yeah. You just feel for those people. And their families.' Astroworld Festival has never reopened, but Travis has gone on to headline several other festivals, including Rolling Loud in 2024, where Owen joined him on stage. Metro has reached out to Travis' reps and Live Nation Studios for comment.
