Not even one full month after the Astroworld crowd-control tragedy that left ten Houston concertgoers dead, Hulu uploaded what appeared to be a documentary called Astroworld: Concert From Hell on Wednesday, December 1. The branding appeared to take callous advantage of the very recent events, with a pulpy description that read, “Travis Scott’s Astroworld was supposed to be the concert of a lifetime. But it turned into a tragic nightmare.†As it turns out, this was not a Hulu Original documentary, but rather a 50-minute local-news segment that aired on ABC’s Houston affiliate on November 20. The highly produced news feature covers the lead-up, events, investigations, and possible aftermath of the Astroworld deaths, and includes interviews with survivors and experts, as well as footage of police and grieving parents. Taken out of the local newscast’s context and rebranded for Hulu, Astroworld: Concert From Hell appeared to bear too close a resemblance to fluffier, more entertainment-driven Hulu docs like Fyre Fraud.
After social-media backlash, Hulu pulled the upload. A spokesperson for the streaming platform told Variety, “This was an investigative local news special from ABC13/KTRK-TV in Houston (a Disney-owned station in the market) that originally aired on November 20th — not a Hulu documentary. The special was briefly available on Hulu, but has since been removed to avoid confusion.â€