- Culture
- 11 Feb 22
"That’s crazy that he wants someone to apologise for putting the welfare of someone else before their profits," Ezra Blount's grandparents said about Kanye West's criticism of Billie Eilish.
The family of the youngest Astroworld victim, Ezra Blount, has slammed Kanye West over his “hurtful” remarks towards Billie Eilish.
West took to Instagram last night (February 10) to demand that Eilish “apologise” to Travis Scott after he perceived the Happier Than Ever artist as having "dissed" Scott at her concert.
At a concert in Atlantia, Georgia, an audience member suffered a medical emergency at Eilish's show. “I wait for people to be OK until I keep going," she said, which many media outlets and then West himself presumed to be a dig at Travis Scott following the tragic Astroworld disaster.
The 21-year-old artist stopped the gig so her fan could access an inhaler, as a clip showed. “Can we just grab one?” she asked a crew member. Another clip saw Eilish being met with cheers after halting the whole event.
Her second remark was interpreted by some to be a subtle criticism towards Scott, after his headline show killed 10 fans and crushed many others.
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West is slated to headline Coachella alongside Eilish and Harry Styles in April. Taking to Instagram, he wrote: “Come on Billie we love you please apologise to Trav and to the families of the people who lost their lives.
“Trav will be with me at Coachella but now I need Billie to apologise before I perform.”
Responding in the comments section, Eilish said that she “literally never said a thing about Travis”.
Rolling Stone as since reported that the grandparents of nine-year-old Ezra Blount – who died as a result of suffering critical injuries at Astroworld – have hit out at West’s insensitive Instagram post.
“To hear Kanye’s words, that’s hurtful to us. What an idiotic thing to say,” Ezra’s grandfather Bernon Blount commented.
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The young victim's grandmother, Tericia Blount, said that West should focus on hailing Eilish for her efforts to help a fan who was struggling to breathe.
“I think it’s just crazy, and I hate to use that word, but I think it’s ridiculous,” she said of the rapper’s criticism.
“She’s making sure that she is caring for the patrons at her concert, and I just think that’s crazy of Kanye to even let that demand come out of his mouth.”
“That’s crazy that he wants someone to apologise for putting the welfare of someone else before their profits. That’s someone who needed their asthma pump," Bernon adds. "They could have lost their life, right then. This world is twisted, and we have to stop doing this.”
Tericia “totally commends” Eilish for having to “decency” to step in, adding: “I think what she did was wonderful, and I would love to tell her myself how brilliant and awesome she is for doing so.”
Hundreds of lawsuits filed against Travis Scott and Live Nation over the Astroworld tragedy are moving forward as one case, it was recently publicised.
The FBI have since set up a website asking attendees to submit photos and videos taken during the event as evidence.
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Last December, Coachella reportedly dropped Travis Scott as one of its 2022 headliners in the wake of the Astroworld incident.
Kanye West has scheduled the release of DONDA 2 for February 22nd this year, following on from August 2021's DONDA.