Hulu Pulls Astroworld Documentary From Streaming Service Following Backlash

Hulu has pulled a documentary about the Astroworld tragedy hours after it appeared on the streaming service, quickly sparking a backlash over the timing of the special.

On Wednesday, Dec. 1, Astroworld: Concert From Hell was uploaded onto Hulu with little fanfare or promotion; soon after, word of the insensitively titled documentary — which, on the surface, appeared to look like new and original programming — spread on social media.

“Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival was supposed to be the concert of a lifetime,” the Hulu synopsis read. “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.”

However, a spokesperson for Hulu clarified in a statement Thursday (via The Hollywood Reporter) that the 50-minute documentary “was an investigative local news special from ABC13/KTRK-TV in Houston that originally aired on Nov. 20,” just two weeks after a crowd surge at Travis Scott’s Houston festival killed 10 people and injured hundreds more. 

The streaming service added, “This was not a Hulu documentary and has since been removed to avoid confusion.”

As Variety notes, the local news special — also titled Astroworld: Concert From Hell — is still available to view on ABC 13 KTRK’s website, which also states that it can also be streamed on Roku, Apple TV, Google TV, and other services.