In filing published earlier this week, Live Nation claims that it has no responsibility in the matter of a fatal attack on rapper Drakeo The Ruler (Darrell Caldwell), which took place backstage at a Los Angeles festival run by the entertainment giant in December. Live Nation has been targeted in lawsuits filed by friends, family, and associates of Caldwell, seeking to hold the event promoter and operator responsible for his death at the Once Upon a Time in L.A. festival.
From Rolling Stone:
According to Live Nation, it can’t be held responsible for the “violent mob” of 50 to 100 people who “produced knives and stabbed Drakeo” because state law dictates the horrifying ambush was “unforeseeable” considering no “prior similar incidents” at the venue had been reported. In other words, the concert promoter claims it owed no “duty” to Drakeo because it had no reason to suspect the “third-party criminal conduct” that ended the rising rapper’s life at age 28 was a risk.
Live Nation also argues that it should be let off the hook because no one associated with Drakeo “asked for additional security” or informed promoters that the rapper “faced threats and constant hostility from gang members.”
Similar arguments are expected to be filed by attorneys representing Live Nation in all three lawsuits it faces over the incident.
Caldwell was on the bill for Once Upon a Time in L.A. alongside other acts including Al Green, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, and YG. He had not yet performed when a group of men wearing red swarmed a fenced-off area backstage. He suffered multiple stab wounds in the altercation, which attorney’s representing his family referred to as him having been “essentially lynched by over 40 to 60 people” despite his being in a supposedly secure area of the event venue. “This would have never happened if those promoters had the proper security protocol,” they continued.
The incident, coming close on the heels of the crowd crush incident at Astroworld that left ten audience members dead as Travis Scott performed, continued hard scrutiny of Live Nation and its safety record as an event operator.
No arrests have been made to date in the case.
