Tributes toOzzy Osbournehave continued to pour in ever sincethe legendary rocker’s deathon June 18, 2025. He had been battling Parkinson’s disease since 2003 anddied in the United Kingdom at age 76, a little over two weeks after playing a concert billed as his final performance. There, he joined his former bandmates, theheavy metal pioneers, Black Sabbath.
Some of the artists who paid tribute to Osbourne at their concerts include Alice Cooper at his show in Cardiff, Wales, as well as Cyndi Lauper, who played Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” andsang her hit “Time After Time” in his honor.Coldplay played Black Sabbath’s “Changes,” and Lady Gaga also played that song at the end of her San Francisco show.
However, there was one onstage tribute that offended people, andit came from a rocker who’s also considered a legend, with people saying the tribute was highly inappropriate and should’ve never been done onstage or anyplace else. The rocker who made the soon-to-be-infamous tribute is none other than Rod Stewart, who was later taken to task by Osbourne’s fans.
Rod Stewart Used AI To Show Ozzy Osbourne Posing With Other Late Musicians
While on his tour,One Last Time, Stewart has been honoring Osbourne with his song “Forever Young” while showing photos of him as the song plays. At his August 1 show, however, held at Ameris Bank Amphitheater in Alpharetta, Georgia, Stewart took a different route andshowed Osbourne with a selfie stick taking photoswith other music legends who’ve died.
An image of Kurt Cobain was seen in the tribute clipposted by Instagram useriamsloanesteel, as were images of Prince, Tina Turner, George Michael, Freddie Mercury, Amy Winehouse, Aaliyah, Tupac Shakur, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, and the rapper XXXTentacion. The AI-generated video showed Osbourne and the other late artists surrounded by puffy white clouds, as if they were taking selfies in heaven.
The video caused plenty of controversy, not just for being peculiar, but also because Osbourne was seen with artists like XXXTentacion, who was arrested for domestic abuse before he was shot and killed in 2018, and Jackson, who was arrested, then acquitted of charges related to child molestation.
Reactions From The Crowd & Social Media Are Both Unsavory
The person who posted the clip from Stewart’s concert saidthey witnessed “man-made horrors” beyond their comprehension, a clear sign that the concertgoer thought the video was tasteless. Others then reacted in the comment section of that post and used words like “weird,” “tacky,” “disgusting,” and “disrespectful” to show their distaste.
Plus, someone wrote that Prince probably wouldn’t want his photo used because he was incredibly serious about protecting his image. Meanwhile, others just don’t like AI being used in music or art and said it should be stopped at all costs, with one person writing, “AI is gross.” Another pointed out, “AI slop is getting out of hand.”
Neither Stewart nor his team has commented on the backlash, and there’s no word that he’ll stop using the controversial tribute clip.His tour wraps up on June 01, 2025, and it’ll be interesting to see if he changes the video somehow or does away with it altogether.
