Post-Astroworld, Travis Scott Is Partnering With an Incredibly Exploitative Therapy App

After the deadly tragedy at Astroworld, rapper Travis Scott has announced a partnership with therapy app BetterHelp, sometimes called the Uber of the mental health space. Its business model: ruthless exploitation of both therapists and patients.

Astroworld Festival 2021

Travis Scott performs onstage during the third annual Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas. (Rick Kern / Getty Images)


Following the death of eight people (with many more injured) on November 5 during his Astroworld show, rapper Travis Scott has said he will cover funeral costs for the families of those killed. The other thing he’s doing is a bit weirder. Scott, who is already facing fourteen lawsuits related to Astroworld, is partnering with BetterHelp, a counseling app, to offer one free month of “therapy” to those affected by Friday’s events.

“Partnering” with an app typically entails a celebrity being paid to promote a company; is Scott making money off the collaboration? Either way, such a move is more befitting a podcast advertisement than a deadly tragedy — imagine promo code SICKOMODE, or maybe MASSCASUALTYINCIDENT. Even setting aside the unseemliness of the partnership, BetterHelp is a predatory disaster, the last place toward which potentially traumatized people should be steered.

The company describes itself as the “largest online counseling platform worldwide,” a service geared toward “making professional counseling accessible, affordable, convenient.” With health care in the United States so expensive and byzantine, a lot of people can’t afford mental-health treatment. BetterHelp sees that niche, and fills it. On its face, the idea of making counseling more accessible sounds great. But, as with so many other tech-industry disruptions, in practice, it’s an extractive nightmare.

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