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Scores of lawsuits are sure to be filed in the coming weeks over the Astroworld Fest tragedy -- but would-be plaintiffs could hit a legal snag over something on the Live Nation website.

We're talking about liability here ... and whether Live Nation -- the promoter of Travis Scott's event -- is on the hook for it or not as plaintiffs rush to court to file claims against them and others.

On its face, LN may have an out on that front -- or at least a partial one, anyway -- due to a standard form they made everyone agree to before purchasing tickets from the Live Nation site ... It's the limitation of liability waiver most folks don't read ... but always have to accept.

We did some research, and as it turns out ... an ironclad liability waiver in Texas would almost certainly provide cover for basic negligence -- something we know for a fact concertgoers are alleging against LN in the suits we've seen thus far.

The online waiver reads in part, "You voluntarily assume all risks and danger incidental to the event for which the ticket is issued, whether occurring before, during or after the event, and you waive any claims for personal injury or death against us."

What it doesn't provide is protection against gross negligence, among other claims, which may well be brought forth in court as well.

With that said ... you'd think Live Nation might be in the clear here -- at least on the negligence front -- but not so fast. TMZ took a good hard look at the liability waiver, and it's quite possible they screwed themselves ... and might still be exposed.

Not to bog you down in legal mumbo jumbo -- but in Texas, in order for a liability waiver to be enforced to protect against negligence, there are a few things that must be met first.

The company has to feature clear language -- that your average Joe would understand -- directly addressing negligence in their waiver ... and from our check, Live Nation's Texas waiver does NOT seem to do this at all. Plus, the waiver itself is buried on their site -- which is another benchmark waivers have to clear ... ya gotta have it prominently displayed. In fact, there are clearly people who bought tickets without ever going to the website.

So, basically ... because Live Nation's liability waiver does not seem air-tight, it is NOT a foregone conclusion LN can wiggle out of liability in these mounting lawsuits.

Travis Scott might act like he didn't know how bad things really were at this year's Astroworld Fest -- but his own posts and words demonstrate ... the dude knew how his fans got down, and often encouraged them to risk their safety.

There are a number of still photos Trav has posted on his Instagram account from over the years that show fans of his injured to varying degrees ... from what appears to be simply attending concerts of his.

Many of the times he spotlighted a certain individual who was injured ... and seemed to glorify and glamorize it, with captions like ... "SHE BROKE HER HAND AND SHE DOESN'T GIVE A F***!!!" or "IT'S NOT A SHOW UNTIL SOMEONE PASS OUT."

Here's another one that's especially cringeworthy in light of this weekend's tragedy -- it's a post of a young man laid out on the floor, presumably from one of Travis' shows, with the rapper writing, "TO THE KID THAT DIDN'T SURVIVE THE RODEO. UR A HERO IN MU BOOK."

BTW, a lot of these posts are still up on the guy's IG page as of this posting ... which is even more telling. Frankly, this whole "rage" mentality is part of Travis' brand, image and artistic identity ... except now, people are seeing how unsafe and reckless it really is.

Travis has gotten in trouble in the past for encouraging people to rush the stage. In 2015, he pleaded guilty to charges of reckless conduct stemming from an incident at Lollapalooza. In 2017, he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after law enforcement said he incited a riot at a show in Arkansas.

Put aside the fact he's been arrested/cited at least twice for inciting a riot. The real criticism doesn't necessarily lie in him getting his fans hyped ... but more so, him taking things too far, and seemingly, more often than not, refusing to lower the temperature in the room. That has led to lots of his fans getting hurt in his presence. And, even when he does acknowledge an injured person on the spot, it often comes off cold and callous.

The same scrutiny applies for this year's Astroworld Fest -- namely, there appeared to be moments when he acknowledged people were going down, but didn't bring things to a halt.

In one instance that's been captured on video from multiple angles, Travis clearly sees the ambulance cart working its way through the crowd, pauses for a bit, gets approached by some guys whom he shoos away ... and then proceeded to incite the crowd.

That's now the big question ... how much did Travis Scott know ... and when? He claims he was unaware people were dying at the show that night and didn't realize the severity of the situation.

Larry Hoover Jr. is trying to broker peace between Kanye West and Drake ... asking Drake to lower the temperature in their ongoing feud, and join forces in the name of freeing his infamous father.

LHJ, the son of the famous Chicago gangster, tells TMZ ... Drake has the power to help free Larry Hoover, IF he checks his ego and accepts Kanye's proposed peace offering -- a benefit concert starring both rap superstars.

As you know ... Kanye's been fighting to free Hoover, the former head of a major gang in Chicago who was convicted of murder back in the 1970s and sentenced to 6 life sentences. In a video, seemingly orchestrated by James Prince, Ye's already asked Drake to join him for the upcoming Free Larry Hoover Concert ... planned for Dec. 7 in Los Angeles.

Larry Jr. says he and his mother, Winndye, already met Drake at J. Prince's place in Texas a few months ago ... which is why he thinks it makes sense for them to put aside their differences and work together.

While Hoover was convicted of murder, lots of folks believe he has done more than enough hard time for his crime ... and Larry Jr. says his dad qualifies to be freed.

Travis Scott says he didn't know a calamity was unfolding when he was onstage Friday at Astroworld ... and we found out when he left, he went straight to Dave & Buster's for an after-party.

Sources connected to Travis tell TMZ ... the rapper was never told at the festival people had died in the crowd and hundreds more were injured. The sources say, "Travis didn't know the severity of the situation when he arrived at the party, as far as timing, this remains consistent with the fact that no one including the police had publicly confirmed the gravity of the events that had taken place."

The person who threw the after-party -- Drake, who had performed with Travis as a surprise guest just as the tragedy was unfolding. Our Drake sources claim he also didn't have a clue there were people dying in the crowd.

As we reported, there were a number of people who were pleading with camera operators and others to stop the show as the crowd crush took its toll, which is why a lot of people think Travis had to know what was going on ... if not during the concert, before he left. However, our Travis sources insist he was at least 50 yards from that camera operator and did not hear the pleas to end the show because fans were dying.

But, we're told when someone told Travis at Dave & Buster's about the tragedy, he immediately left the party. This seems to support the notion he didn't know ... even when he left the venue.

TMZ broke the story ... Travis has pledged to pay funeral costs for his 8 fans who died at the festival and provide mental health services to anyone who may have been affected.

As we reported, lawsuits continue to pour in against both Travis and Live Nation ... including one filed Tuesday by the family of a 9-year-old boy who is fighting for his life after being trampled at the show.

For his part, Drake released a statement Monday night, saying, "My heart is broken for the families and friends of those who lost their lives and for anyone who is suffering. I will continue to pray for all of them and will be of service in any way I can. May God be with you all."

NRG Park -- the venue that hosted the calamitous Astroworld festival -- has an insurance policy totaling $26 million ... nowhere near what the injured and families of the dead will be seeking.

TMZ has obtained the Certificate of Liability Insurance ... a document that was filed with the City of Houston. Proof of insurance is required for such events.

The policy provides for $1 million in primary coverage with a $25 million umbrella. With 8 dead and more than 300 injured, damages could go into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

If the policy doesn't cover the judgments, then NRG would be responsible for anything above the policy limit.

Now it's possible NRG has additional coverage, but there's no evidence of that from the documents.

We do not know what insurance policies are carried by Live Nation or Travis Scott, although it's certain they have some coverage. But, whatever it is, when you total all of it together, it's unlikely it will cover the enormous judgments that could be coming their way. If the injured and the families of the dead get judgments, the policies will cover them as far as the money goes, but once the limit is reached Travis and the various companies would be personally on the hook for the balance.

It's not that the policies were not written properly, because no one could have anticipated the scope of the disaster.

A staffer at Houston's NRG Park -- which hosts Astroworld Fest -- made a very specific plea to Houston city officials to establish a wide perimeter ... in anticipation of unruly behavior.

TMZ obtained permit and planning documents and correspondence between NRG and the City of Houston, and in them ... the guy in charge of the facility's parking emailed people at the mayor's office just days before the 2-day festival was set to start.

The message -- sent by parking rep Sandeep Prasad -- is pretty detailed on what NRG was going to need from the City before Astroworld, due to what he described as past "transgressions."

Specifically, Prasad wanted to see if Houston could accommodate having a couple main road lanes entirely blocked off just outside NRG Park ... as he felt it would allow for safer entry into the premises, especially considering what had happened in 2018 and 2019.

Prasad's email reads, "During the Festivals in 2018 and 2019, there were a lot of transgressions on the Main Street side of the Yellow Lot. Those included destroying property and various acts of violence."

He goes on to say due to those issues, NRG is requesting to have the City close the two outside lanes going northbound on Main Street starting November 3. Main is a road that borders NRG and a section of its lot.

Prasad also mentions this request isn't coming out of thin air ... but on the heels of many public safety meetings in conjunction with Houston PD, which apparently thought this would be in the public's best interest.

No word on whether NRG got what it wanted, but it's telling the request was made at all. We don't know for certain if Prasad was specifically referring to the massive stampeding that took place in 2019 -- which was well-documented -- as the park opened.

You might recall, folks were trampled in 2019 -- the last time Trav held an Astroworld Fest at NRG -- with many climbing over barricades and breaking through security gates. Three people were seriously injured back then, and the email makes it seem like NRG honchos had that on their minds ahead of this year's concert.

And, that's what makes this document so important ... it shows NRG was aware of the risk for more violence and rowdiness, and attempted to take steps to curb it -- although, the tragedy still went down on the premises.

Ezra Blount, the youngest victim of the Astroworld concert tragedy, is suing Travis Scott and Live Nation for the horrific injuries he suffered -- injuries that still might cost him his life.

Ezra is the 9-year-old who was "trampled nearly to death" during the Friday night concert in Houston. According to the lawsuit, filed by renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump, Ezra was "suddenly forced to watch in terror as several concertgoers were injured and killed" during the crowd surge.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Crump says Ezra was "kicked, stepped on, and trampled" as people around him were lifting up "unconscious bodies of friends and strangers and surfed them over the top of the crowd, hoping to send them to safety."

The suit vividly describes many of the images we've seen in videos from the ill-fated concert, adding that many people were shouting for "help with CPR and pleading" with Travis and concert organizers to stop the concert.

According to the suit, Ezra remains in a medically induced coma and on life support after suffering severe damage to his liver, kidney and brain ... and the injuries will impair his quality of life and "ability to grow and thrive."

The lawsuit lays blame for Ezra's injuries squarely on Travis, Live Nation and several other entities ... saying they "egregiously failed in their duty to protect the health, safety and lives" of all concertgoers. Specifically, Crump says they didn't have enough security to implement crowd control measures and emergency medical support.

Many wonder why nobody working security at Astroworld Fest didn't do more to stop the show as the tragedy unfolded  ... and one guard says it's because they were woefully unprepared.

Darius Williams was one of the hundreds of people who were hired to work security for the festival by a company called Contemporary Services Corporation (CSC) ... which appears to have been contracted by either folks running NRG Park, or perhaps by the promoters themselves.

In any case, Williams tells us he was hired just a few days prior to the start of the festival -- and he claims his role was vague and not properly explained. As a matter of fact, the guy says he actually completed his training just a day before Astroworld Fest began -- and he tells us he felt inadequately briefed or coached for the task at hand.

As a result ... Williams tells us he bailed on the job entirely on the day he was supposed to work -- because he was that uncomfortable with the incompetence he says he witnessed.

Here's just a taste of what Williams says he and other guards were put through (or not rather) in order to pass CSC's smell test for the gig. For starters, Williams tells us he and the others had to take a licensing exam for a level 2 security officer -- but alleges the training for the test was brief, and all the answers they needed were being provided ... via open book and even from the instructor themselves, who were blurting out the answers.

Tired and hungry ... Williams showed up Friday for his first shift, and says he immediately realized they were understaffed and not equipped to handle the massive crowds. He says he expressed concerns to supervisors, and after they tried moving him from front gate duty to another role ... the dude just threw up his hands and left as he felt it was unsafe.

Williams claims other guards working that day also wanted to up and quit -- but he didn't stick around long enough to see if they did. BTW ... he also tells us there was virtually no security experience required to apply for this, evidenced in the company's own job listing.

Kanye West is looking to bury the hatchet with Drake -- inviting him to perform on stage with him in the name of freeing a famous Chicago gangster ... all at the behest of one J Prince.

Ye took to social media late Monday night with a video message for Drizzy -- basically, the guy's extending an olive branch ... and it sounds like this might be the doing of Prince, the Rap-A-Lot Records honcho, because he was standing right next to Mr. West during the plea for peace.

You see Kanye reading a statement, saying he wants to address the back and forth between himself and Drake and put it to rest by coming together for a December 7 benefit concert in honor of Larry Hoover, to be held in Los Angeles.

If you're not familiar, Hoover is the former head of a major gang in Chicago, the Gangster Disciples, who was convicted for a murder way back in the '70s, and was sentenced to 6 life sentences. Many feel he has done more than enough time for his crime -- and folks like Kanye, J Prince and seemingly Drake have been lobbying for his release.

Kanye addressed Hoover's situation on his latest album, 'DONDA,' and now ... it would appear J Prince is orchestrating a cease-fire between Ye and Drake (again).

You might recall ... JP brokered something similar between the 2 rap giants a few years ago when their beef was an all-time high, and when Pusha T was smack dab in the middle of it -- exposing the fact Drake had fathered a son he hadn't made public.

Drake is speaking out for the first time since joining Travis Scott on stage at Astroworld the same night 8 concertgoers lost their lives ... saying he's devastated and vowing to be of service in any way he can.

Drake posted a lengthy statement Monday, saying, I've spent the past few days trying to wrap my mind around this devastating tragedy. I hate resorting to this platform to express an emotion as delicate as grief but this is where I find myself."

He continues, "My heart is broken for the families and friends of those who lost their lives and for anyone who is suffering. I will continue to pray for all of them, and will be of service in any way I can. May God be with you all."

Drake was a surprise performer at Friday's festival in Houston, jumping on stage to perform "Sicko Mode" and other hits with Travis.

Sources close to both Drake and Travis tell us neither had any idea of the severity of what was happening in the crowd ... with waves of fans pushing forward, and suffocating others.

While it wasn't his event, Drake has still been named a defendant in injury lawsuits from those claiming the concert left them in serious physical and emotional stress.

TMZ broke the story ... Travis will cover the funeral expenses of the 8 people who died at the show -- without question -- and is teaming up with BetterHelp to offer mental health services to anyone who may need them.

Travis Scott is stepping up to help the families of those who died at Astroworld Fest -- offering to pay funeral costs -- and extending even more help for those affected.

Sources close to Travis tell us he'll be fully covering any and all funeral costs that might come about for the families of the 8 people who passed away at the concert this weekend.

We're told this is going to be coming from Travis' own pocket, and that there'll be no questions asked as it pertains to those 8 individuals and what their families might need to properly lay their loved ones to rest.

There's more ... Travis is also going to be partnering with BetterHelp -- a network of mental health professionals -- to offer mental health services, for free, to anyone who attended Astroworld Fest who may need to talk through their trauma.

The BetterHelp resources will amount to one-on-one virtual therapy sessions with trained, licensed professionals working with the org. On top of this, BetterHelp will also team up with the National Alliance of Mental Illness for people who may need more help than just virtual ... and there's going be a hotline set up to that end, which Travis is also overseeing.

Unclear how exactly Trav and co. will vet claims for the service, but we imagine it's going to be a system that vets people ... to make sure they were, in fact, in attendance Friday.

Of course, that may mean there are thousands of people who take him up on it -- as there were countless folks in the crowd that night who might've been affected ... and if that happens, it probably won't be a cheap endeavor to ensure all those folks are cared for.

It's certainly a nice gesture ... and just one step of Travis trying to do right by his fans. Obviously, there's a lot more that may have to be done -- but at least he's starting here.

As we reported ... in addition to those who died, dozens more were injured to varying degrees and hospitalized -- and some of those people have already started to file lawsuits against Travis and Live Nation.

Travis Scott and Live Nation continue to have lawsuits pile up against them, with one Houston injury attorney just submitting 7 in the last hour for various clients, and famed attorney Ben Crump is also repping victims.

The docs, obtained by TMZ, are mostly identical -- filed by the Houston law firm of Roberts Markland LLP --  but switch out the petitioner name each time. Each lawsuit claims both Travis and Live Nation failed to provide adequate security and a security plan to protect attendees ... and conditions at Astroworld Festival "caused several stampedes and a crowd compression" that led to the 8 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

The attorney behind these lawsuits -- Sean Roberts, doesn't list specific injuries for his clients, but says they were "seriously and permanently injured."

In the docs, Travis and LN are accused of failing to warn fans of safety risks and failing to provide appropriate medical staff at the event.

Of course, there will certainly be more lawsuits filed by concertgoers, and wrongful death litigation is expected as well. Attorney Ben Crump -- who repped the family of George Floyd -- has also stated he is representing Astroworld attendees.

Kanye West thinks "Saturday Night Live" forced Kim Kardashian to talk about her divorcing him on TV -- but he's sorely mistaken, 'cause she came to the show armed with the joke ... TMZ has learned.

Show sources with direct knowledge tell us ... Kanye's gripe from last week during his appearance on the "Drinks Champs" podcast is completely unfounded. We're told most of Kim's 'SNL' monologue was written ahead of time, and that included the line about their divorce.

ICYMI ... Ye complained the media was spinning a certain narrative about his relationship with Kim, something he apparently thinks still has a chance at being revived. He also called out 'SNL' specifically, saying they might've forced Kim to talk about their split.

That's simply not true, as we're being told the monologue was mostly unchanged from what Kim came in with ... and she only got a few suggestions from writers for the show.

In other words, the divorce crack was something Kim -- and her comedian pals -- wrote and wanted in the monologue. And, to further that point, our sources say Kim might acknowledge she's technically married to Ye -- but, frankly, they're not together anymore ... which is why Pete Davidson is happening.

There's also this ... Ye claimed there was no "paperwork" he'd seen to prove a divorce was even happening, but our sources say that's BS and he's fully apprised of what's happening here. As we've reported, the divorce is moving forward, full steam ... and he even signed off on Kim buying the former family home from him for $23 million.

Organizers behind this year's deadly Astroworld Fest promoted the show with footage from 2 years ago, hyping up the fact things could get crazy ... and that people could get hurt.

Check out this promotional video that was published earlier this year in May and posted by the official Astroworld Fest Instagram account -- which shows a number of news clips and civilian clips from 2019 spliced together ... demonstrating the chaos that unfolded ahead of that year's show, including the fact some people were trampled while trying to get in.

The video seems to lean into the notion Astroworld Fest was deemed dangerous/potentially treacherous, embracing that identity ... almost like they were inviting people back with that specifically in mind. You could even interpret this as a ... enter if you dare type thing.

At the end of the video, they tease the dates for this year's concert. BTW, this is the same video that Travis himself posted on his Twitter account shortly after Astroworld Fest wrapped in 2019 ... when he was accused of encouraging the wild behavior.

He wrote at the time, "THANKS TO EVERYBODY THAT PULLED UP TO RAGE !!!!"

This repackaged video used to promote this year's event has allegedly been scrubbed from Astroworld Fest's official YouTube page and other pages, but it is still up on their IG account.

On its face ... this video is pretty damning in the fact that it plays up the apparent inherent danger that lies with attending Astroworld Fest -- and rather than try to pivot away from that ... it would seem folks involved in putting the concert together encouraged round 2.

This is evidenced by the 8 deaths and dozens of other injuries that occurred on Friday night -- not to mention several video clips that appear to show concertgoers trying to relay their concerns about people passing out and dying ... but being mostly ignored and drowned out.

There are also videos that show Travis himself was at least somewhat aware of people falling into distress while he performed -- apparently acknowledging an ambulance golf cart that was working its way through the crowd, as well as taking note of someone who'd passed out in front of him. While he did alert for help for the latter ... TS carried on with the show.

After the fact, Travis described how devastated he was ... sending condolences to the deceased's family members, and promising to work with the authorities. He also denied knowing the severity of things while it was all unfolding -- saying he simply didn't realize people were dying out there. That was echoed by Kylie Jenner as well.

Travis took to Instagram to share his sadness surrounding the event ... again emphasizing he was going to work with Houston PD.

Speaking of the police ... a criminal investigation has been opened into this, as it appears at least one person might've been injected with a needle.

Houston Texans quarterback Tyrod Taylor said his team is sending their thoughts and prayers to those affected by the chaos at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival on Friday ... saying the incident is "bigger than football."

8 people are dead and hundreds of others are injured as a result of the tragedy ... and after the Texans fell 17-9 to the Miami Dolphins, Taylor opened his postgame press conference by addressing what went down back home.

"I know something bigger than football happened back in our Houston community this past Friday at the festival," Taylor said. "Just wanted to let the city of Houston know that our organization, our team, our prayers are definitely with y’all."

"Never want to see loss of life. We'll continue to keep praying for y’all."

The Houston Police Chief was so concerned about crowd control at the Astroworld Festival, he went to Travis Scott's trailer to express concern over the "energy in the crowd."

Police Chief Troy Finner said the "energy" in anticipation of the festival had been escalating for months ... this according to the NY Times. The Chief attributed the energy to the pandemic, the fact that tickets went for hundreds of dollars and the event itself had a history of crowds that were difficult to control.

The Chief knew Travis personally and admired him for all the good work he did in Houston.

That said, it's clear the Chief was concerned about the swelling and anxious crowd.

The Chief may have gone to the trailer because some people who wanted to get in before the concert started knocking down barricades.

Sources connected to Travis tell TMZ ... the Chief never told Travis to pull the plug on the show. Furthermore, the sources say Travis was never told the stop the show prior to 10:10 PM -- more than an hour after the show began -- via his in-ear device. The sources go on to say the fire marshal was also mum.

Although Travis says because of the pyrotechnics, strobe lights and all, he couldn't see the scope of the calamity.

And, there's this ... our sources say at one point officers working the show near the stage were filming the concert on their cell phones ... in other words, not doing their jobs.

There was also this ominous sign ahead of the concert ... there was only 47 security personnel on-hand at the 2019 festival ... by contrast there was 528 security members at this event, underscoring the fear things could get out of control.

As we reported, 8 people died during the chaos, and hundreds were injured.

The fatalities from the event ranged from teens to young adults: a 14-year-old, a 16-year-old, two 21-year-olds, two 23-year-olds, a 27-year-old and a male whose age was unknown.

Travis Scott took to Instagram to share his sadness and condolences surrounding the event and that he was working with Houston PD. He's also vowed to refund festival tickets and has canceled an upcoming show in Vegas.

In addition to crowd control, Chief Finner said a security guard working the event felt a prick in his neck by an unknown assailant while he was trying to restrain a citizen -- and he quickly fell unconscious.

Finner says the guard was revived by use of NARCAN ... and that medical personnel did, indeed, see something on his neck that indicated he'd been stabbed with a syringe.