Rod Stewart is under fire for what fans are calling a “creepy”, “lazy” and “disrespectful” tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne — and now, the backlash is reaching boiling point. Many are demanding that the 80-year-old rocker either apologise or cancel his One Last Time tour altogether.
At a recent concert in Atlanta, Rod performed his 1988 track Forever Young in honour of Ozzy, who passed away last month at age 76 after a long battle with Parkinson’s. But instead of a heartfelt tribute, the audience was shown an AI-generated video of Ozzy taking selfies in “heaven” with late music icons like Freddie Mercury, Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Amy Winehouse, Tupac and Prince. One bizarre detail? Ozzy was even shown holding a selfie stick, grinning with other AI-rendered celebrities.
The clip — which has been circulating online for weeks — was projected on giant screens behind Rod during his performance, and fans were stunned. Social media exploded with criticism, with one viewer writing: “This is the craziest most disrespectful s**t I ever saw in my life.” Another commented: “It’s like some creepy AI fever dream – not a tribute.”
Now, opinion pieces are piling on. In a scathing editorial, one showbiz writer slammed the tribute as “sloppy AI slop” and accused Rod’s team of failing him. “Did nobody in Rod’s PR team step in and let him know what a terrible move this was?” she asked. “It’s endearing when your Aunty Margaret shares AI videos, but it’s different when one of the biggest music legends in the world does it on tour.”
Critics are also calling out the lack of personal touch. “Gone are the days when artists gave real speeches or showed heartfelt footage. Rod is playing a generic AI clip that he had no hand in making — it’s lazy,” the editorial continued.
Some fans even believe this may be “intentional sabotage” from Rod’s team. After all, the video would’ve needed approval from multiple people before being projected to thousands.
Rod has been dedicating Forever Young to Ozzy every night since his death, but this latest attempt to honour the Black Sabbath frontman — rather than uniting fans in grief — has instead sparked a digital firestorm.
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, thousands gathered in Birmingham for Ozzy’s funeral, lining the streets to pay their respects. Fans are also petitioning to rename Birmingham Airport and a Download Festival stage in his honour, with over 57,000 signatures already gathered.
Unless Rod takes swift action and issues an apology, he risks alienating a loyal fanbase — one that expected more than an AI sideshow for a rock legend.
