Travis Scott insists he didn’t know fans were getting trampled in 1st interview about Astroworld tragedy

Travis Scott is speaking out about the Astroworld Festival tragedy in his first interview.

The rapper sat down with Charlamagne tha God to discuss his Nov. 5 concert at which 10 people died amid a crowd surge and hundreds were injured. Scott, who continued performing for 37 minutes after Houston police and firefighters responded to the "mass casualty event" and then went to an after-party, said he didn't know the extent of what happened. He's facing more than 100 lawsuits in the aftermath.

Scott (real name: Jacques B. Webster II) said he's been on an "emotional rollercoaster" over the last month, "a lot of feelings, a lot of grieving and trying to wrap my head around it, ya know?"

He said he wished he could "be there" and "hold everyone," amid the tragedy. Scott offered to cover funeral expenses for the victims — an offer rejected by half of them. "It really just hurts. It hurts the community, it hurts the city. There's been a lot of thoughts, a lot of feelings, a lot of grieving, and just trying to wrap my head around it.”

Scott — who earlier this week denied being liable for the Astroworld disaster and asked the court to dismiss him as a defendant — said he was doing the interview, despite the pending lawsuits, as a "human being" trying to communicate his emotions over it. He said his fans "are ... family," so he feels like he's "lost something," too.

He maintains he didn't know people were being seriously injured, as it was a crowd of approximately 50,000. He's used to people passing out at his shows, which are known for being high-octane events.

Kylie Jenner's partner says he didn't hear people screaming help or notice anyone trying to get his attention ("Nah, man") — and is the kind of artist who would stop the show and make sure an ailing fan got the attention they needed, saying, "I just didn't hear that."

Charlamagne brought up how Live Nation agreed to end the concert early after Houston police and fire departments declared it a mass casualty event, but Scott performed for 37 more minutes. Scott said it was communicated to him to end the show early, but claims he wasn't told it was an emergency.

"Well, yeah," he said when asked if he was told to end the show. "They just told me right after the guests get off stage" — Drake was a special guest — "we're gonna end the show. That's what we did. Other than that, there was no other communication."

He said there was "no communication about why," saying that was all he was told through his earpiece.

"So they didn't say, 'Stop now!'" Charlamagne clarified. "No," Scott replied.

He said it wasn't until minutes before the press conference, though it's unclear when that was, that he was told people died. Even then, he felt like, "Wait, what? He said it felt like a regular show" as far as energy. "People didn't show up to be harmful. People just showed up to have a good time and something unfortunate happened."

He said they're working to get to the bottom of it so "this doesn't happen again" and wants to ensure people's safety at future shows.

As far as his responsibility for it, he said it's "to figure out what happened here. I have a responsibility to figure out the solution. Hopefully this takes the first step into us as artists having more insight into what's going on," versus leaving that up to the organizer, promoter or whatever failed in this case, "and make sure it just never happens again."

Asked what responsibility promoter Live Nation and organizer ScoreMore have in this, as they're also targeted in the massive number of lawsuits, he said, "At the end of the day, I think collectively, everyone needs to figure out the bottom line solution, especially with concert safety. Definitely got to make sure these things are done right."

While talking about how he's been processing everything, he said he's been "just in a room for a while." However, Charlamagne asked about photos of him at a golf course with Michael Jordan and Mark Wahlberg.

"It was just Thanksgiving," he replied. "[They are] good people to have around in a community. That was just a personal time trying to get around. I think some fan asked for a photo, but yeah."

Charlamagne also asked Scott about criticism of the "raging" culture his shows are known for. He said his shows are supposed to be about joy, community and "fun. It's not about ... harm. It's not about that. It's about letting go and having fun. Help others, love each other."

He added, "The energy isn't to come and start being ultra-violent and ... hurting each other. That's not what it's about."

Scott also had a message directly to the families of people who lost loved ones.

"I'm always here," he said. "I'm in this with you guys and I love you. I'll always be there to help you guys go through this. I understand that they're grieving right now ... It's not just a right now thing, it's a forever thing. And these people that came to the show, they are my family. I've always had that connection" to the people who listen to my music or come to my shows."

He paused, then added, "It's really hard on me ... because they lost their loved ones, you know?" getting emotional. "It's tough. I just want to always just be there for them ... and fix this problem and find a solution to make sure this doesn't happen [again]."

Robert Hilliard, attorney for the family of the youngest victim, 9-year-old Ezra Blount, has since released a statement to Yahoo Entertainment, saying, "It is clear from carefully watching Mr. Scott's interview that he and others were clearly aware of the potential safety dangers of this concert and of the catastrophic deficiencies that led to these terrible deaths and injuries."

He continued, "Throughout the interview, he seems intent on not 'lawyering up' just to benefit his civil case. If he does want to 'lead' as he says, he has to understand that he cannot protect the 'business of Travis Scott' or protect other defendants who may attempt and dodge responsibility for this tragedy — I am asking that the defendants, including Mr. Scott, not allow this litigation, and the pain of the families as a result, to be unduly prolonged through delay," as Scott's team tries to get all the lawsuits dismissed. "We need to get to the full unvarnished truth as quickly as possible so healing can begin."