Meek Mill and Live Nation are being sued over a shooting which left two men dead and others injured outside of Meek's show in December. The wrongful death suit coming from the family of victim Travis Ward states that Meek Mill's violent lyrics should have been a warning for the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, CT, who allowed "thugs" to remain on the premises following the show.
TMZ has now acquired legal documents filed by both Meek and Live Nation (who run the Oakdale Theatre). While Meek has questioned the claim that his lyrics were responsible for the violence at the show, Live Nation says that the victim's family is resorting to racist stereotypes by using the word "thugs" in regard to the crowd.
The family's attorney, Joel Faxon, says that "the families of those shot at the concert agree Mr. Mill meets the definition of a thug." He argues that Meek has a responsibility to warn concertgoers of violence at previous shows.
Following the shooting in December, Meek questioned reports that tied the incident to his show. "They really trying to slow these bags up," he said in a clip posted to Instagram. "Looking at this shit ... two people died, two people got shot ... it's a lie. Someone hatin' trying to slow these bags up."
In the original suit, the family pointed towards specific Meek lyrics from "Tony Montana (Freestyle)" that they felt encouraged violence: "AK-47 picture perfect like a camera ... What's your body count n****? I'm double digits."
Meek Mill was recently cleared of a charge for felony reckless endangerment after he was arrested for riding his dirt bike "in and out of traffic and popping wheelies in the street," according to the NYPD. He still faces a misdemeanor charge for the incident.
Meek will appear on a new record from Tee Grizzley called "Beef" set to be released on Friday. The two were recently in the studio working on new music that may include a remix to Grizzley's popular "Dreams and Nightmares"-esque single "First Day Out."
