{"id":118502,"date":"2025-08-04T15:34:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T15:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/118502\/"},"modified":"2025-08-04T15:34:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T15:34:08","slug":"rod-stewart-under-fire-for-forever-young-ozzy-osbourne-ai-tribute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/118502\/","title":{"rendered":"Rod Stewart Under Fire For ‘Forever Young’ Ozzy Osbourne AI Tribute"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWhat was clearly intended as a loving tribute to a beloved fellow English music legend turned sour last week when Rod Stewart\u2019s homage to late heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne<\/a> drew rebuke from some commenters. As seen in fan video<\/a> of the moment, during Stewart\u2019s show in Charlotte, N.C. on July 29, the 80-year-old singer posted a bizarre AI-generated video of Osbourne \u2014\u00a0who died on July 22 at age 76 of undisclosed causes \u2014\u00a0mugging for selfies in heaven with a variety of fellow deceased pop, rock and hip-hop stars including: Prince, Tina Turner, Bob Marley, Kurt Cobain, Tupac Shakur, Aaliyah, Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury, George Michael and XXXTentacion, among others.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe comments on one woman\u2019s video said it all: \u201cThis\u2026 looks like one of the drug induced psychosis that led Ozzy to rehab. Outstanding, 7\/10. Could have been a 10 if they randomly added Princess Diana and someone who hasn\u2019t died yet,\u201d as well as, \u201cWeekend at Bernie\u2019s vibes. Prince didn\u2019t even want his music on Spotify and changed his name to a Symbol to protect his intellectual property I\u2019m 100% sure he wouldn\u2019t have signed off on Rod Stuart Puppeteering his face for this tacky.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tOn X, comments ranged from \u201cWe are truly in the end times<\/a>,\u201d to \u201cI\u2019ve seen some s\u2013tty AI visuals in concerts but this is a new low<\/a>\u201d and \u201cThis is bizarre for many reasons<\/a>, not the least of which being the fact that Rod Stewart has performed with Ozzy Osbourne. Instead of blasting AI images of Ozzy in heaven, they could show this real & quite lovely picture of Rod Stewart with his arm around the actual Ozzy Osbourne.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to the Charlotte Observer<\/a>, Stewart ended last week\u2019s Ozzy AI tribute by saying, \u201cVery sad. A lot of those people died \u2019cause of drugs\u2026 I\u2019m still here, though!\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tSince Osbourne\u2019s death last month tributes have been pouring in<\/a> from all over, including more traditional ones from Stewart, who has been dedicating his performances of \u201cForever Young\u201d to Ozzy at his concerts in the weeks since; on July 22, on Instagram<\/a> Stewart wrote, \u201cBey, bye Ozzy. Sleep well, my friend. I\u2019ll see you up there \u2014\u00a0later rather than sooner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tJust a few days earlier than the Charlotte stop, during a July 26 show at the XFinity Center in Mansfield, Mass., Stewart dedicated \u201cForever Young\u201d to Ozzy, saying that \u201cwe lost a really, true legend this week in Ozzy\u2026 I knew his family very well,\u201d as a photo of Osbourne<\/a> filled the screen. \u201cI\u201dll be with you soon\u2026 but not too soon,\u201d Stewart quipped before launching into the song as the stage screens filled with colorful, postcard-style images of his band members.<\/p>\n

\n\tAt press time, spokespeople for Osbourne and Stewart had not returned Billboard\u2018s request for comment.<\/p>\n