Rod Stewart’s AI Ozzy Tribute Doesn’t Land Well

By Arden Dier

Rod Stewart’s “One Last Time” tour has paid homage to Ozzy Osbourne with an AI video that’s being called out as icky and insensitive. The video—played as Stewart performed “Forever Young” at his Friday show in Alpharetta, Georgia—shows Osbourne amid a background of bright white clouds, apparently in heaven, holding a selfie stick as he poses with other deceased musicians including Prince, Tina Turner, Bob Marley, Kurt Cobain, Tupac Shakur, Aaliyah, Michael Jackson, George Michael, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Freddie Mercury, and XXXTentacion, with the caption “eternal stars,” NBC News reports.

One concert attendee said they’d “witnessed man made horrors beyond my comprehension,” per the New York Post. Some social media users saw the video as “heartfelt,” but others viewed it as “tacky” and “disrespectful.” An Instagram user summed up the criticism, noting, “I’m going to use AI to make a video of your dead grandma breakdancing in heaven with princess diana and put it on a giant screen as part of my tour … without your knowledge or permission,” per NBC. Some onlookers were also upset to hear Stewart remark as the video played at a show last week in Charlotte, North Carolina, “Very sad. A lot of those people died ’cause of drugs … I’m still here, though!” per Rolling Stone.

https://www.newser.com/story/373029/fans-call-out-rod-stewarts-tacky-ozzy-tribute.html