Hulu appears to have released and subsequently removed a news special detailing Travis Scott’s Astroworld music festival, the site of a crowd surge that left 10 attendees dead and hundreds injured.
News of the title first broke on Twitter, where the official account for popular podcast No Jumper shared a screenshot of the ABC-produced segment.
It’s worth noting that, while No Jumper characterized the title as a documentary, the cut is technically a long-form news segment (à la 20/20) from Houston’s ABC13.
Hulu has released a documentary about the tragic events at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival. pic.twitter.com/EU0BtJPA3k
— No Jumper (@nojumper) December 2, 2021
Though the title is unavailable on Hulu’s website and app, its landing page was still live at the time of publishing.
“Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival was supposed to be the concert of a lifetime,” a description of the segment reads.
“But it turned into a tragic nightmare. A minute-by-minute look at what happened in the crowd, the young victims who were killed, and what happens next.”
Hulu’s decision to release the segment read to many as a grab for clicks and views, rather than an attempt to quash misinformation surrounding the event. As netizens pointed out, Hulu packaged the special as a docuseries — a move that viewers understandably took issue with.
Filming a series about #ASTROWORLD in the midst of tragedy is wildly insensitive. Families are still mourning, festival-goers are still traumatized, and some victims haven't even been laid to rest yet. ABC and HULU saw their trauma as a cash grab. Cold world.🤦♂️
— Da Kid Gowie (@DaKidGowie) December 2, 2021
“Filming a series about #ASTROWORLD in the midst of tragedy is wildly insensitive,” one Twitter user by the handle @DaKidGowie wrote.
Others interpreted the segment as an opportunity for victims’ families to grieve.
“The core of it was the families sharing stories about the night, their loved ones (it’s therapeutic to share what you loved about you loved ones), and thanking the people who tried their best to help save their family,” @TaylorTaylorw01 shared.
6) The core of it was the families sharing stories about the night, their loved ones (it’s therapeutic to share what you loved about you loved ones), and thanking the people who tried their best to help save their family
— Taylor Williams (@TaylorTaylorw01) December 2, 2021