Hulu has removed its documentary about the Astroworld tragedy from its streaming platform hours after it launched after facing backlash from audiences.
Ten people died and hundreds more were injured during a mass-casualty crowd crush that occurred during Travis Scott‘s headline set at Astroworld Festival last month (November 5).
According to Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña, “at approximately 9.15pm the crowd began to compress towards the front of the stage. And that caused some panic and it started causing some injuries.”
The incident is the focus of the 50-minute news special, called Astroworld: Concert From Hell. The documentary arrived on Hulu on December 1, and was met with instant criticism from people on social media.
“Hulu making a documentary about Astroworld is in poor taste all around,” tweeted one user.
“People are still burying their loved ones. The legal cases haven’t even started. Great documentaries are done when all the facts are laid out. Not enough time has passed to fully discuss this.”
Hulu making a documentary about Astroworld is in poor taste all around.
People are still burying their loved ones. The legal cases haven’t even started.
Great documentaries are done when all the facts are laid out. Not enough time has passed to fully discuss this.
— Petty Slimane (@LilAioli) December 2, 2021
“Astroworld victims haven’t been put in the ground yet, and the media already has a special on Hulu. We are in hell,” wrote another.
Meanwhile another tweet criticised how the documentary framed the victims of the concert.
“The Astroworld: Concert from Hell doc on Hulu puts blame on concert goers ‘not caring’-no type of structural analysis & they didnt interview the RN who said medics there were undertrained, under staffed & HPD was useless. Shit seemed directed by Live Nation/Travis Scott himself,” they wrote.
The Astroworld: Concert from Hell doc on Hulu puts blame on concert goers ‘not caring’-no type of structural analysis & they didnt interview the RN who said medics there were undertrained, under staffed & HPD was useless. Shit seemed directed by Live Nation/Travis Scott himself😩
— Solidarity w/Ayiti🇭🇹 (@KimCommie) December 1, 2021
A spokesperson for Hulu has released a statement via The Hollywood Reporter to clarify that whereas the documentary appeared on the streaming channel, it was not directly made by Hulu.
“This was an investigative local news special from ABC13/KTRK-TV in Houston that originally aired on November 20th. This was not a Hulu documentary and has since been removed to avoid confusion,” it read.
Meanwhile, families of half the victims have rejected Scott’s offer to pay for funeral expenses.