Tommy Lee, former drummer for the '80s hair metal band Motley Crüe, has accused Travis Scott of stealing two stage designs for his Astroworld tour.
Posting on Instagram, Lee claimed Scott's 360 degree stage loop and rollercoaster were direct copies of visuals he had brought on previous tours. "Just found out this fucking idiot [Travis Scott] or someone on his team ripped off the 360 AND The Crüecifly," Lee wrote in the caption of an Instagram. The post contained videos of Scott at a recent concert and Lee in 2011 – both artists are strapped into a similar device that takes the artist around in a complete circle as they perform.
As Complex points out, however, Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker employed the 360 loop design in a tour before either Lee or Scott in 2009.
In another post, Lee claims that a separate rollercoaster-style design of Scott's plagiarizes "The Crüecifly," a similar contraption used on the final Motley Crue tour in 2015. Lee writes: "I get copying is a form of flattery, but this is just straight ripping off my shit."
Lee indicated through Twitter that he would be taking legal action: "Hey @trvsxx lawyer up!," he wrote.
Travis Scott's legal representation told The FADER in a statement that the rollercoaster set piece was officially licensed: "Tommy didn’t invent the concept of a roller coaster on stage and there’s no legal basis for his accusatory outburst. The actual creator and owner of the system has granted Travis all rights to use that equipment to complement his original stage design."
It's the second time this month a high-profile rap artist has been accused of stealing stage designs. Lorde claimed Kanye West and Kid Cudi's Kids See Ghosts performance at Camp Flog Gnaw contained a suspended glass box that was a copy of hers, but the original stage designer Es Devlin poured cold water on that claim.
