Fortnite pulls Travis Scott emote following concert tragedy
Out West has been removed from the in-game store
A Fortnite emote featuring music by Travis Scott has seemingly been removed from sale, following a tragedy at the rapper's Astroworld festival on Saturday that killed eight people. The emote appeared in the item store's daily selection on Sunday, then soon after Epic outright disabled that section. While they haven't explained why, the cause seems clear.
Epic have pulled the "Out West" emote, which plays a sample of music from Travis Scott's song of the same name, though they didn't provide a reason as to why. According to players on Reddit, the emote had been available in that section over the weekend. Epic Games have now temporarily disabled the Daily section of Fortnite's item shop completely, and will turn it back on with the next Item Shop refresh.
At the opening show of Astroworld festival in Houston on Friday night, eight people were killed and many were injured when fans were crushed against the stage. It's reported that Scott continued his concert set despite promoters agreeing to stop the performance after seeing people in distress. The rest of the festival was cancelled, and the musician now faces a number of lawsuits, one of which claims he "incited mayhem".
Scott tweeted an apology on Saturday, saying he was "absolutely devastated by what took place". He added that he's committed to working with the Houston community "to heal and support the families in need".
Travis Scott's Astronomical event was previously held digitally in Fortnite in April last year, during which several character skins of the rapper were added. I've contacted Epic Games for comment, and will update this post if I receive a reply.