Anheuser-Busch Cancels Rapper Travis Scott's Hard Seltzer Following Astroworld Tragedy

Rapper Travis Scott’s hard seltzer brand, Cacti, will be pulled from shelves after Anheuser-Busch said it will stop selling the product in the wake of the Astroworld Music Festival tragedy in Houston, Texas, last month, which left ten people dead. The rapper, however, claims it was his decision.

“After careful evaluation, we have decided to stop all production and brand development of CACTI Agave Spiked Seltzer,’ Anheuser-Busch said in a statement on Friday. “We believe brand fans will understand and respect this decision.”

The company did not specify whether the decision to cancel the drink was made due to the crowd surge that killed ten people during Scott’s November 5 performance at Astroworld, according to a report from AdAge.

A spokesperson for Scott told TMZ that canceling the seltzer was the rapper’s idea, saying that he is “not focused on business right now” in the wake of the tragedy.

“Travis was clear in his interview that he is not focused on business right now and his priority is helping his community and fans heal,” the spokesperson said. “CACTI asked AB InBev to inform their wholesalers there will not be product at this time.”

Rapper Travis Scott performs on the Outdoor Stage during day 1 of the Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival (Weekend 1) at the Empire Polo Club on April 14, 2017 in Indio, California. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Coachella)

A source told TMZ that Cacti isn’t technically “discontinued,” but that it is more of a temporary hold with hopes that the beverage will be brought back in the future.

One source close the rapper told TMZ that both Scott and Anheuser-Busch had mutually agreed to end the drink on November 30, saying, “this is not a cancelation or creasing of an ongoing agreement.”

Cacti is not the only product of Scott’s to be canceled in the wake of the fatal incident at Astroworld — which has also resulted in more than 100 lawsuits from concertgoers who say they were injured during the rapper’s performance

Last month, Nike decided to postpone the release of its collaboration with Scott — the “Air Max 1 x Cactus Jack” — due to his performance at Astroworld. The decision came one day after a 9-year-old boy who was trampled at the event died from his injuries, bringing the Astroworld death toll to ten.

Before that, the online game Fortnite deleted an emote that included an audio snippet of Scott’s track “Out West” from its shop. An emote is a dance move or action that characters can perform during an online game.

Additionally, a petition to stop the rapper from performing at next year’s Coachella Festival has attracted tens of thousands of supporters.

Scott broke his silence in a recent interview with radio host Charlamagne tha God, in which the rapper suggested that the media are forcing responsibility on him because he was the face of the show.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.

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