Rod Stewart Slammed for Bizarre AI Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne Featuring Tupac and Kurt Cobain

Rod Stewart was hit with a wave of criticism after he paid tribute to late rocker Ozzy Osbourne with an AI-generated video that appeared to depict him meeting a variety of dead musicians in the afterlife.

The bizarre footage, which was played at his July 29 concert, included the Prince of Darkness posing for photos alongside Tupac, Michael Jackson, Prince, Kurt Cobain, Aaliyah, Tina Turner, Freddie Mercury, George Michael, XXXTentacion, Bob Marley and other celebrities who have passed.

While it was clearly meant as an homage to the former Black Sabbath frontman – who died on July 22 at 76 years old following a battle with Parkinson’s disease and other health issues – social media users criticized the “Forever Young” singer, 80, for the strange video.

“So Rod Stewart has been on tour dedicating ‘Forever Young’ to Ozzy… and now he’s showing the AI generated video of him in heaven taking selfies with all these dead artists,” one X user wrote. “I’ve seen some s**tty AI visuals in concerts but this is a new low.”

A second fan called it “so f**king disrespectful” to all of the artists represented in the clips.

Another user chimed in, “Rod could’ve done a tribute without doing it like this. There was a better way to do this. Smh.”

“Beautiful and tasteful use of AI. Can’t wait to make a montage of my granny meeting Juice WRLD,” a fourth person said sarcastically, referring to the “Wishing Well” rapper, who died in 2019.

Others pointed out that Stewart and Osbourne had actually performed together in the past, making an AI tribute unnecessary.

“Instead of blasting AI images of Ozzy in heaven, they could show this real & quite lovely picture of Rod Stewart with his arm around the actual Ozzy Osbourne,” one person said next to a photo of the pair on stage.

Another user suggested, “[He] could’ve searched through literally any of the thousands of videos of Ozzy on YouTube if he’s fine with downloading stuff off the internet and putting it on the big screen.”

As the Globe previously reported, Osbourne’s family confirmed that he died “with his family and surrounded by love” late last month.

On July 30, the Osbourne family and countless fans gathered to say goodbye to the “Crazy Train” singer in Birmingham, England.

A few days later, his daughter Kelly Osbourne took to her Instagram Story to thank fans for the “love, support and beautiful messages” she’s received in this difficult time.

“Every kind word, every shared memory, every bit of compassion has meant more than I can ever explain,” she said on Monday, August 4. “Grief is a strange thing-it sneaks up on you in waves – I will not be ok for a while – but knowing my family are not alone in our pain makes a difference. I’m holding on tight to the love, the light, and the legacy left behind.”