Entertainment | Music
Blame game
Sugarland manager Gail Gellman issued a statement on Tuesday
- — AP
- Published: 00:00 February 23, 2012
Fans who were killed and injured when stage rigging and sound equipment collapsed onto them as they awaited a Sugarland concert at the Indiana State Fair failed to take steps to ensure their own safety and are at least in part to blame for their injuries, the country duo's attorneys said.
The statement, part of a civil suit filed by survivors and families of some of those killed, is a clear attempt to cast blame away from the band as investigators continue to search for answers in the collapse that killed seven people and injured 58.
Calling the powerful winds that toppled the stage on August 13 an "act of God", Sugarland's attorneys said Fair officials and Mid-America Sound Corp were responsible for the stage setup, and that the fans voluntarily assumed risk by attending the show. The lawsuit response sharply contrasts comments lead singer Jennifer Nettles gave two days after the stage collapsed.
Nettles said then that she was "moved by the grief of those families who lost loved ones. Moved by the pain of those who were injured and the fear of their families".
Sugarland manager Gail Gellman issued a statement on Tuesday saying Nettles and Kristian Bush were upset that anyone might think they were not concerned about their fans.
"Sadly when a tragedy occurs, people want to point fingers and try to sensationalise the disaster. The single most important thing to Sugarland are their fans," the statement read.
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