Sir Rod Stewart has sparked backlash after playing an AI‑generated video of Ozzy Osbourne “in heaven” with deceased music icons during his recent concerts
Fans at Sir Rod Stewart’s latest concerts have condemned the decision to play an AI‑generated video depicting Ozzy Osbourne meeting late music stars in “heaven.”
The clip was shown on giant screens during a dedication of Forever Young to the Black Sabbath legend, who died on July 22 aged 76 and was buried on July 31.
The video featured a smiling Ozzy holding a selfie stick while posing with AI creations of George Michael, Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Prince, Tina Turner, Bob Marley, Tupac Shakur, Aaliyah, Michael Jackson and XXXTentacion. It comes after Kelly Osbourne broke her silence on her dad’s death to share an emotional tribute.
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Many audience members felt that Rod’s tribute was “tacky” and disrespectful, given how recently the rock icon had died.
Sloane Steel, who attended the Alabama concert where the clip was unveiled, said it was “the craziest most disrespectful s**t I ever saw in my life.”
Another fan likened it to Weekend at Bernie’s, adding: “Prince didn’t even want his music on Spotify… I’m 100% sure he wouldn’t have signed off on Rod Stewart puppeteering his face for this tacky…”
One person wrote online: “Good idea: pay tribute to Ozzy and his friends in heaven. Bad idea: making an AI‑generated video with his dead friends/members.” Another added: “Omfg I was there too and was horrified by this. The whole thing felt creepy and unnecessary.”
Others questioned the choice of celebrities shown. “Those aren’t even Ozzy’s friends,” one comment read. “I doubt he even knew most of those people. That’s part of what makes this so cringey. They just threw in any dead celebrity they could think of.”
Social media users also criticised the lack of personal connection. “This wasn’t even made by Rod Stewart’s team,” one pointed out.
“It was pulled from a TikTok AI account. There’s no authenticity, no real tribute – just a random AI video slapped on a big screen.”
The footage was traced back to a TikTok page called Eternal Stars, which produces AI videos of deceased celebrities.
Fans argued that using such content so soon after Osbourne’s death showed poor judgement, especially given the grief still felt by his loved ones and supporters.
The controversy came just days after emotional scenes in Birmingham, where widow Sharon Osbourne wept at Black Sabbath Bridge surrounded by her children.
It was also less than a month since Ozzy’s final public performance with Black Sabbath, where he remained seated throughout the show.
Bandmate Geezer Butler described him as “frail” but “thrilled” to perform one last time for his fans.
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Source: Mirror
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