Rod Stewart has been paying tribute to Ozzy Osbourne during his recent concerts, but a new addition to the segment has caused confusion — and anger — among fans.
Since Osbourne’s July 22 death, Stewart, 80, has been dedicating the song “Forever Young” to the late rock star. During his Friday, August 1, show, however, Stewart displayed an AI-generated video that showed Osbourne partying in heaven with other deceased music icons, including Prince, Bob Marley, George Michael, Michael Jackson, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse.
One part of the clip shows Osbourne posing for a photo with the late Tina Turner, who is holding a selfie stick. Another bit shows Osbourne holding the selfie stick as he smiles alongside late rapper XXXTentacion.
Some fans — both those at the show and those who just saw the video online — were baffled by the display, which also featured Tupac Shakur, Whitney Houston, Aaliyah and Freddie Mercury.
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“Yes the rumors are true: I went to a Rod Stewart concert last night (lol) and witnessed man made horrors beyond my comprehension,” one concertgoer wrote via Instagram alongside a video of the performance. “Ozzy Osbourne with a selfie stick in heaven smiling with Tina Turner, Bob Marley, Prince, and…XXXTentacion.”
In a caption over the clip, the audience member added, “This is the craziest most disrespectful s*** I ever saw in my LIFE!!!”
Over on X, one critic wrote, “I’ve seen some s***ty AI visuals in concerts but this is a new low,” while another user quipped, “We truly are in the end times.”
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Another X user joked that Prince would be the most unhappy about his inclusion in the video, writing, “Prince would beat rod stewart with hammers if he knew about this.” (Prince, who died in 2016 at age 57, famously changed his stage name to an unpronounceable symbol during a contract dispute with Warner Bros.)
Osbourne died last month at age 76 after a yearslong battle with Parkinson’s disease. “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning,” the rock star’s family shared in a statement to Us Weekly on July 22. “He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”
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Shortly after Osbourne’s death, Stewart shared a tribute to the Black Sabbath frontman via Instagram.
“Bye, bye Ozzy. I’ll see you up there— later rather than sooner,” he wrote on July 22.
Stewart has not commented on the controversial AI video seen on Friday, but his tour continues through September before he returns to Las Vegas late that month for his Caesars Palace residency.
