“Boomers love AI,” Rod Stewart takes Ozzy Osbourne tribute a step too far
Rod Stewart’s tribute to the late rock and roll legend Ozzy Osbourne has been heavily criticized after showing a video generated using artificial intelligence (AI) at one of his shows.
Image by Cybernews
Rod Stewart’s tribute to the late rock and roll legend Ozzy Osbourne has been heavily criticized after showing a video generated using artificial intelligence (AI) at one of his shows.
“Bruh, what? Rod Stewart's tour features an AI video of Ozzy Osbourne taking selfies with XXXTentacion, Kurt Cobain, 2Pac, and many other artists in heaven. We truly are in the end times,” said one X user, who reposted a video from the veteran musician’s tour.
Bruh what, Rod Stewart's tour features an AI video of Ozzy Osbourne taking selfies with XXXTentacion, Kurt Cobain, 2Pac, and many other artists in heaven 😭
undefined RileyTaugor 🏴 (@RileyTaugor) August 3, 2025
We truly are in the end timespic.twitter.com/UbaFnVh2Jt
The video shows the late Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne, holding an antiquated piece of technology, a selfie stick, alongside some of the world’s greatest and also deceased artists.
The clip, which shows Osbourne in heaven with the likes of Amy Winehouse, Prince, XXXTentacion, Kurt Cobain, 2Pac, Bob Marley, and others, is obviously AI-generated.
It is unknown whether Osbourne’s or any of the other musicians’ families allowed Stewart to use their likenesses.
Another video posted to Instagram, found by The New York Post, confirms that this bizarre tribute really did happen.
“Yes, the rumors are true: I went to a Rod Stewart concert last night (lol) and witnessed man-made horrors beyond my comprehension. Ozzy Osbourne with a selfie stick in heaven smiling with Tina Turner, Bob Marley, Prince, and…XXXTentacion,” the user wrote.
On the Instagram video, it says, “This is the craziest, most disrespectful s**t I ever saw in my life.”
The reactions to this AI-generated flick are overwhelmingly negative, with many saying that this display at Stewart’s concert is outright disrespectful.
“Why is this disrespectful?” 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 that people paid money to see, and I’m gonna do it without your knowledge or permission, said one outraged Instagram user.
Alongside the outraged reactions, many people questioned whether the late musicians would be happy with their image being used in this way.
“Prince didn’t even want his music on Spotify and changed his name to a Symbol to protect his intellectual property. I’m 100% sure he wouldn’t have signed off on Rod Stewart puppeteering his face for this tacky s**t, ” one user wrote.
“Prince was 100% against this type of technology. He made that very clear while he was alive. This is all very much so in poor taste!” another person echoed.
Other users made fun of the whole tribute, saying that older people are obsessed with AI without understanding the implications.
“Boomers love AI. You know someone like 65 is filming this at the other side of the venue and crying,” one user commented.
Media reports that Osbourne and Stewart were actually friends, which makes the “forever young” tribute all the weirder.
Musicians battle against AI: Is Rod Stewart’s tribute to Ozzy Osbourne tone deaf?
While Stewart is paying homage to his deceased rocker pal using AI, many musicians and creatives are battling against the technology.
Back in February, a bunch of creatives decided to leak OpenAI’s text-to-video AI model Sora, along with an open letter to the public explaining why.
This is due to artists and creatives feeling as if they’re being taken advantage of by AI companies that are training models on their work without their consent.
The group’s concerns seem to have been confirmed when Nick Clegg, formerly Meta’s president of global affairs, said that asking for artists’ consent to use their content to train AI models would "kill the industry overnight."
Legendary artists like Elton John and Paul McCartney have urged the UK government to protect artists from AI.
Furthermore, according to a new study released Friday by musicMagpie, the voices of Frank Sinatra, Kurt Cobain, and Freddie Mercury are all being cloned using AI and used without permission.
So, you could say that Stewart’s AI tribute to his late friend is part of the problem and might be slightly tone deaf.