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Travis Scott was more concerned with his own safety than that of his fans, and the tragedy at Astroworld should have never happened ... so says an attorney repping one of the victims.

Attorney Tony Buzbee, who is repping the family of Axel Acosta, tells TMZ ... all signs are pointing to Travis and the rest of the festival lineup going to great lengths to protect themselves from the crowd, and not putting nearly enough resources into crowd safety.

Buzbee says Axel traveled all the way from Washington to see the Houston festival and loved Travis, but the feelings were clearly not mutual, because the 21-year-old is one of 9 who perished from injuries suffered at the concert.

The way Tony sees it ... Travis and other artists are full of it when they say they love their fans, because if they really did, they would implement better safety measures at shows. Especially when they're massive 50,000-fan events like Astroworld was.

While Buzbee says he's not singling out Travis from the festival lineup, which also included Drake, watch the clip ... he clearly seems to be laying blame at the feet of the headliner.

TMZ broke the story ... Travis vowed to cover funeral costs for families of the people who died at the show, and provide mental health services to anyone impacted by the events.

Buzbee thinks that's a hollow offer -- he says the Acosta family has not heard a peep from Travis' camp and isn't expecting to get any money for Axel's upcoming funeral.

Travis' camp tells us they have been "actively exploring routes of connection with each and every family affected by the tragedy through the appropriate liaisons" ... adding families of the victims can reach out to them directly too.

Meanwhile, Buzbee is conducting his own investigation, and claims police requested full riot equipment before Astroworld's gates even opened Friday morning -- and by 10 AM cops admitted they had no control ... even with an extra 300 officers coming in to boost the overall number to 500.

Rev. Jesse Jackson tells us, "I'll be in court next week." He says the line of thinking from Gough is "unacceptable" and a "public trial involves public observation."

Sharpton tells us, "The arrogant insensitivity of attorney Kevin Gough in asking a judge to bar me or any minister of the family’s choice underscores the disregard for the value of the human life lost and the grieving of a family in need spiritual and community support."

He continues, "I respect the defense attorney doing his job but this is beyond defending your client, it is insulting the family of the victim."

The lawyer for defendant William 'Roddie' Bryan in the Ahmaud Arbery trial complained to the judge ... "black pastors" coming to court and sitting with the family is unfair.

Attorney Kevin Gough voiced his displeasure in open court after Rev. Al Sharpton showed up to sit with Arbery's family inside the courtroom.

Gough groused, "I've got nothing personally against Mr. Sharpton ... but if we're starting a precedent where we're gonna bring high-profile members of the African-American community into the courtroom to sit with the family during the trial in the presence of the jury, I believe that's intimidating and it's an attempt to consciously or unconsciously pressure or influence the jury."

And, he goes on ... " ... if their pastor is Al Sharpton right now, that's fine, but then that's it. We don't want any more black pastors coming in here. Jesse Jackson, whoever was in here earlier this week sitting with the victim's family trying to influence the jury in this case."

BTW ... Jesse Jackson was never in the courtroom. He may be referring to attorney Ben Crump, who was in court earlier in the week.

The judge was less than receptive, interrupting Gough and shutting down his argument, after the lawyer makes a Colonel Sanders reference.

The judge in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial did something that, on its face, seems pure and patriotic -- but, arguably it could also, unjustly, impact the outcome of the trial.

Judge Bruce Schroeder opened proceedings Thursday in Kenosha, WI by saying he wanted to take a moment to recognize Veterans Day. He asked if there were any military vets on the jury, or anywhere in the courtroom.

Only one person responded ... John Black, a member of Rittenhouse's defense team. Judge Schroeder then asked everyone in court to applaud Black for his service, which they did.

Now, it's Veterans Day and no one's saying Black doesn't deserve the respect. The issue here is ... because Black is the defense's use-of-force expert, should the judge solicit applause for him???

The questionable move by Judge Schroeder comes a couple of days after he ripped into the prosecutor for raising the fact Rittenhouse was silent after his arrest to jurors ... which they could read as a sign of guilt.

To be fair ... anyone with a passing knowledge of law knows you have a right to remain silent, so the prosecutor earned that tongue-lashing.

Even though Kyle Rittenhouse didn't seem to shed any actual tears on the stand, D.L. Hughley is convinced the jury will believe his "performance is real" ... and it very possibly could lead to his acquittal.

The comedian/activist's review of Rittenhouse's emotional testimony is pretty blunt -- worst acting since Stacey Dash -- but Thursday on "TMZ Live" he said it will be good enough to sway jurors because a "white dude crying with a haircut is very sympathetic."

Jokes aside, D.L. joined us Thursday on "TMZ Live" to discuss what he sees as clear biases, both in and out of the courtroom, surrounding Rittenhouse's case. First off, he says the right wing's financial support of the teenager's defense is evidence it believes "whatever you do for your cause is justified."

He also said our judicial system needs sweeping changes, and he proposed one overhaul to remove jury biases -- namely, not allowing jurors to see the defendant. That sparked an interesting debate about how our system is supposed to work ... versus how it actually does.

As for why these changes are needed -- well, D.L. believes too many people in power lack the principles to do what's right ... regardless of how it will affect them.

Hours after Kyle Rittenhouse broke down on the stand and cried in front of a packed courtroom ... LeBron James trolled the 18-year-old, accusing the Kenosha shooter of putting on a show.

"What tears?????" the L.A. Lakers superstar said in a social media post. "I didn't see one. Man knock it off!"

The NBA player then took the mocking one step further ... adding three laughing emojis and writing, "That boy ate some lemon heads before walking into court."

Rittenhouse was on the stand trying to convince a courtroom that he acted in self-defense when he shot at people during an Aug. 2020 protest in Wisconsin.

The teenager -- who's been hit with multiple criminal charges, including two counts of homicide -- said, "I didn't do anything wrong. I defended myself."

Yet at one point during his testimony, he got so emotional trying to explain his actions ... he began sobbing and couldn't get words to leave his mouth.

Rittenhouse broke down in front of the microphone -- forcing a short break in the proceedings -- but James clearly believed it was all a ruse to try to draw sympathy.

The rest of Rittenhouse's hearing, meanwhile, also featured some drama ... with the judge in the courtroom admonishing prosecutors over the way they questioned Rittenhouse.

The officials had asked Rittenhouse about an incident that the judge had previously ruled would not be permitted as evidence ... and after Rittenhouse's attorneys objected, judge Bruce Schroeder exploded.

"You know very well that an attorney can't go into these types of areas when the judge has already ruled without asking outside the presence of the jury to do so," the judge said, accusing the prosecutor of "getting brazen" with him.

"So, don't give me that."

Rittenhouse's attorneys asked for a mistrial over it all.

The family of one of the deceased victims from Astroworld Fest is aiming to set up a scholarship in their loved one's name -- but not before taking Travis Scott to court first.

Rudy Peña was one of the 8 people who died Friday during the concert, and his family has plans to get a fund going in his honor to continue his legacy -- and are hoping to do so at the college he was attending ... so says their attorney, Rosendo Almaraz.

He tells us Rudy's family wants to set up a scholarship at Laredo College, where Rudy was a student ... studying to become a Border Patrol agent via a criminal justice major. Nothing's set in stone yet though ... but we're told that's their intention.

As for what will fund the scholarship they hope to create ... it'd be leftover money from the $34k they raised via a GoFundMe for Rudy. We're told some of that money is going toward funeral costs, and the rest will be earmarked for the scholarship fund -- around $20k.

BTW, you read that correctly ... the Peña family is already burying their son, and they're doing it without the help of Travis because they say they haven't heard from him ... and aren't holding their breath.

Of course, he said he'd cover the funeral expenses of those who perished -- but the Peñas insist they're paying for everything themselves ... and aren't expecting or waiting for any help.

We're told no official cause of death is in for Rudy just yet -- whose body was just released to his family -- Almaraz says he appears to have been trampled badly.

One last thing ... the Peña family has filed their own lawsuit already, and they have named Travis as a defendant. They're alleging negligence and gross negligence directly contributed to Rudy's death that night.

Andy Dick's got a new arrest, and probably an ex-boyfriend ... after cops say he smacked the guy upside the head with a liquor bottle, leaving a deep cut.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... police responded Monday to Andy's home in the L.A. area, where he and his partner got into an argument that escalated, and allegedly got physical.

When cops arrived they saw enough evidence to arrest Andy for felony domestic battery. He was back on the streets about 3 hours later ... once he posted $50,000 bond.

Our sources say this is the 2nd time in 2 months police went to Andy's place for alleged domestic issues -- he was also busted in October when he allegedly weaponized a frying pan! Cops say he hit his BF in the face with it.

The troubled comedian's legal troubles are well documented. He was sentenced to 14 days in jail for a 2019 sexual battery -- squeezing a random woman's butt on the street.

He's had a couple of run-ins with Uber drivers ... one accused Dick of grabbing his crotch in 2018, and that led to a misdemeanor sexual battery charge.

And, in October 2019, there was this bizarre street fight with an Uber Eats delivery driver. Video showed Andy getting his ass handed to him ... as the driver slammed him to the ground.

And, who can forget Andy notoriously threatening to grope and lick one of TMZ's photogs back in November 2017.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed -- the armorer for "Rust" -- is doubling down, claiming she was targeted for sabotage and she thinks she's now being framed ... this according to her lawyer.

Gutierrez-Reed's attorney Jason Bowles tells TMZ ... "We are convinced that this was sabotage and Hannah is being framed." This is a step beyond what Bowles said earlier in the week ... he alleged sabotage, but didn't say it was targeted at his client.

But, Bowles wasn't done ... he added, "We believe that the scene was tampered with as well before the police arrived."

It's interesting ... this comes hours after the D.A. scoffed at the sabotage claim, saying no such evidence has surfaced.

Hannah's lawyer says his client met with Santa Fe County Deputy Sherriff's Tuesday, providing a full interview and continuing to cooperate.

Her legal team says more info keeps coming out that the D.A. needs to investigate, and they want the D.A. and FBI to get to the bottom of what happened with the live rounds they claim ended up in the "dummies" box.

Of course, there's another explanation ... that someone was target practicing during the lunch break and failed to take the live ammo out of the chamber.

A second supplier in the Mac Miller overdose case is admitting wrongdoing ... copping a plea with the feds that could see him do serious time.

38-year-old Ryan Reavis pled guilty this week to a single count of distributing fentanyl. He faces up to 20 years behind bars and a lifetime of supervised release -- but it's likely he'll receive a lesser sentence for accepting the plea deal.

Cops had busted Reavis in Arizona, so it wasn't entirely clear how he was connected to Mac's death -- but now we know, according to feds, Reavis was in L.A. around the time the fatal pills were procured for Mac.

Prosecutors say he ended up giving the fentanyl-laced oxycodone pills to MM's alleged drug dealer, Cameron Pettit ... on orders from Stephen Walter, who also recently pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl.

As we reported ... when cops busted Reavis in 2019, their charging docs noted officers found a doctor's prescription pad at his home.

In the chain of people we know who've been arrested in connection to Mac's death ... the alleged supplier and now the alleged runner have pled guilty.

Scores of lawsuits are sure to be filed in the coming weeks over the Astroworld Fest tragedy -- but would-be plaintiffs could hit a legal snag over something on the Live Nation website.

We're talking about liability here ... and whether Live Nation -- the promoter of Travis Scott's event -- is on the hook for it or not as plaintiffs rush to court to file claims against them and others.

On its face, LN may have an out on that front -- or at least a partial one, anyway -- due to a standard form they made everyone agree to before purchasing tickets from the Live Nation site ... It's the limitation of liability waiver most folks don't read ... but always have to accept.

We did some research, and as it turns out ... an ironclad liability waiver in Texas would almost certainly provide cover for basic negligence -- something we know for a fact concertgoers are alleging against LN in the suits we've seen thus far.

The online waiver reads in part, "You voluntarily assume all risks and danger incidental to the event for which the ticket is issued, whether occurring before, during or after the event, and you waive any claims for personal injury or death against us."

What it doesn't provide is protection against gross negligence, among other claims, which may well be brought forth in court as well.

With that said ... you'd think Live Nation might be in the clear here -- at least on the negligence front -- but not so fast. TMZ took a good hard look at the liability waiver, and it's quite possible they screwed themselves ... and might still be exposed.

Not to bog you down in legal mumbo jumbo -- but in Texas, in order for a liability waiver to be enforced to protect against negligence, there are a few things that must be met first.

The company has to feature clear language -- that your average Joe would understand -- directly addressing negligence in their waiver ... and from our check, Live Nation's Texas waiver does NOT seem to do this at all. Plus, the waiver itself is buried on their site -- which is another benchmark waivers have to clear ... ya gotta have it prominently displayed. In fact, there are clearly people who bought tickets without ever going to the website.

So, basically ... because Live Nation's liability waiver does not seem air-tight, it is NOT a foregone conclusion LN can wiggle out of liability in these mounting lawsuits.

The key gaffer on "Rust" is now taking legal action against Alec Baldwin, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and Dave Halls ... suing them over the fatal shooting that killed Halyna Hutchins.

Serge Svetnoy just filed suit against the above-mentioned individuals -- as well as others -- claiming the defendants' alleged negligence caused him severe emotional distress in the aftermath of it all.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Svetnoy claims the bullet that struck both Hutchins and director Joel Souza actually zoomed by and nearly hit him too. Not just that, but the gaffer claims he was one of the first people on hand to tend to Halyna while she was profusely bleeding ... attempting to comfort her and keep her conscious.

As for why he's suing Baldwin, the suit claims he "owed a duty to the Plaintiff and other crew members and actors on the 'Rust' set to handle the Colt Revolver provided to him by defendant Halls with reasonable care and diligence for the safety of 'Rust' cast and crew." It goes on to say, "This duty called for Defendant Baldwin to double-check the Colt Revolver with Halls upon being handled to ensure that it did not contain live ammunition."

And, it goes on ... "This duty further called for him [Baldwin] to handle the Colt Revolver as if it was loaded and to refrain from pointing it at anyone." In other words, the suit claims negligence on Baldwin's part.

And, there's this ... according to the lawsuit, the scene Baldwin was rehearsing did not call for him to pull the trigger. According to the lawsuit, the scene called for Baldwin to draw the gun and point it in the general direction of the camera, but, "the scene did not call for Defendant Baldwin to shoot the Colt Revolver."

The suit also claims Baldwin was negligent as a producer on "Rust," saying, "... they attempted to save money by hiring an insufficient number of crew members to safely handle the props and firearms ..." It goes on to claim there were other lapses on the set, including violating industry norms, declining requests for weapons training days, failing to allow proper time to allow for gunfire, failing to send out safety bulletins and spreading the staff too thin.

The suit also claims the target practice that was going on shortly before the tragedy was "outrageous."

Svetnoy says he'd known Halyna for 5 years and considered her a good friend.

The ordeal was absolutely traumatic, so says Svetnoy, and has since left him in utter mental anguish ... to the point he feels he might not ever be able to get over it.

The D.A. heading up the investigation into the fatal "Rust" shooting seems sure of one thing, but says the biggest mystery remains unsolved -- how live ammo ended up on the set.

Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies talked to 'GMA' Wednesday to answer about the ongoing investigation into how Halyna Hutchins ended getting shot and killed, and had to admit she still doesn't have much clarity about the live ammunition.

However, she did acknowledge there were multiple live bullets -- beyond the one that killed Halyna -- found on set ... just one of the "Rust" conditions she found alarming.

One thing she did appear ready to dispel was the notion that sabotage might've been at play -- a theory floated by head armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's, own legal team just a week ago.

Check out how the D.A. responds ... while she says there's no evidence thus far to suggest anything like that occurred, Carmack-Atlwies doesn't completely rule it out as a possibility -- nor does she look the other way on what potential sabotage could mean criminally.

Indeed, if the evidence supported any sort of purposeful intent behind bringing bullets on set and/or mixing them into the box of dummy rounds Gutierrez-Reed dipped into to load Alec Baldwin's gun ... the D.A. says a higher murder charge could be on the table.

Like she noted the last time she held a press conference ... no one's off the table at this point as far as possible charges, and she reaffirms here.

Travis Scott says he didn't know a calamity was unfolding when he was onstage Friday at Astroworld ... and we found out when he left, he went straight to Dave & Buster's for an after-party.

Sources connected to Travis tell TMZ ... the rapper was never told at the festival people had died in the crowd and hundreds more were injured. The sources say, "Travis didn't know the severity of the situation when he arrived at the party, as far as timing, this remains consistent with the fact that no one including the police had publicly confirmed the gravity of the events that had taken place."

The person who threw the after-party -- Drake, who had performed with Travis as a surprise guest just as the tragedy was unfolding. Our Drake sources claim he also didn't have a clue there were people dying in the crowd.

As we reported, there were a number of people who were pleading with camera operators and others to stop the show as the crowd crush took its toll, which is why a lot of people think Travis had to know what was going on ... if not during the concert, before he left. However, our Travis sources insist he was at least 50 yards from that camera operator and did not hear the pleas to end the show because fans were dying.

But, we're told when someone told Travis at Dave & Buster's about the tragedy, he immediately left the party. This seems to support the notion he didn't know ... even when he left the venue.

TMZ broke the story ... Travis has pledged to pay funeral costs for his 8 fans who died at the festival and provide mental health services to anyone who may have been affected.

As we reported, lawsuits continue to pour in against both Travis and Live Nation ... including one filed Tuesday by the family of a 9-year-old boy who is fighting for his life after being trampled at the show.

For his part, Drake released a statement Monday night, saying, "My heart is broken for the families and friends of those who lost their lives and for anyone who is suffering. I will continue to pray for all of them and will be of service in any way I can. May God be with you all."

NRG Park -- the venue that hosted the calamitous Astroworld festival -- has an insurance policy totaling $26 million ... nowhere near what the injured and families of the dead will be seeking.

TMZ has obtained the Certificate of Liability Insurance ... a document that was filed with the City of Houston. Proof of insurance is required for such events.

The policy provides for $1 million in primary coverage with a $25 million umbrella. With 8 dead and more than 300 injured, damages could go into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

If the policy doesn't cover the judgments, then NRG would be responsible for anything above the policy limit.

Now it's possible NRG has additional coverage, but there's no evidence of that from the documents.

We do not know what insurance policies are carried by Live Nation or Travis Scott, although it's certain they have some coverage. But, whatever it is, when you total all of it together, it's unlikely it will cover the enormous judgments that could be coming their way. If the injured and the families of the dead get judgments, the policies will cover them as far as the money goes, but once the limit is reached Travis and the various companies would be personally on the hook for the balance.

It's not that the policies were not written properly, because no one could have anticipated the scope of the disaster.

A staffer at Houston's NRG Park -- which hosts Astroworld Fest -- made a very specific plea to Houston city officials to establish a wide perimeter ... in anticipation of unruly behavior.

TMZ obtained permit and planning documents and correspondence between NRG and the City of Houston, and in them ... the guy in charge of the facility's parking emailed people at the mayor's office just days before the 2-day festival was set to start.

The message -- sent by parking rep Sandeep Prasad -- is pretty detailed on what NRG was going to need from the City before Astroworld, due to what he described as past "transgressions."

Specifically, Prasad wanted to see if Houston could accommodate having a couple main road lanes entirely blocked off just outside NRG Park ... as he felt it would allow for safer entry into the premises, especially considering what had happened in 2018 and 2019.

Prasad's email reads, "During the Festivals in 2018 and 2019, there were a lot of transgressions on the Main Street side of the Yellow Lot. Those included destroying property and various acts of violence."

He goes on to say due to those issues, NRG is requesting to have the City close the two outside lanes going northbound on Main Street starting November 3. Main is a road that borders NRG and a section of its lot.

Prasad also mentions this request isn't coming out of thin air ... but on the heels of many public safety meetings in conjunction with Houston PD, which apparently thought this would be in the public's best interest.

No word on whether NRG got what it wanted, but it's telling the request was made at all. We don't know for certain if Prasad was specifically referring to the massive stampeding that took place in 2019 -- which was well-documented -- as the park opened.

You might recall, folks were trampled in 2019 -- the last time Trav held an Astroworld Fest at NRG -- with many climbing over barricades and breaking through security gates. Three people were seriously injured back then, and the email makes it seem like NRG honchos had that on their minds ahead of this year's concert.

And, that's what makes this document so important ... it shows NRG was aware of the risk for more violence and rowdiness, and attempted to take steps to curb it -- although, the tragedy still went down on the premises.

A woman who chucked soup right in a restaurant manager's face might think she got away scot-free, but the cops are hot on her ass ... 'cause the victim's gunning to press charges.

You might've seen this ... an irate customer who's arguing with what appears to be a staffer at a restaurant down in Temple, TX eventually gets so fed up, that she opens her to-go bowl of soup and throws it right onto the woman she's talking to ... hitting her square in the face.

We spoke to the soup-throwing recipient, Jannelle Broland, who's actually the manager at this Mexican joint ... and she tells TMZ, yes, she is pressing charges -- and hopes her assailant is brought to justice to serve some jail time.

As for how all this unfolded, Jannelle says the customer called in to place a to-go order on Sunday around 1 PM, picked it up and left ... and then called back about 10 minutes later.

She explains the woman was furious some plastic from the packaging was in her food, so she came back ready to talk to a manager about it.

Seeing as how Jannelle was the only manager working that day, she says she tried to handle it by apologizing and offering a full refund and/or a replacement item from the menu. That apparently wasn't good enough for the irate customer.

According to Jannelle, the woman cussed up a storm, demanded to speak to someone higher up on the totem pole, and when that didn't happen ... the soup went flying. She also claims the woman made a run for it with her hubby in tow, and some other workers followed her ... and were even able to get quick shots and video of her driving away from the scene.

Temple PD has said they're investigating this as a crime, and if they can track down the unidentified suspect ... Jannelle is more than willing to press charges. In the meantime, the woman's been banned from the establishment.