The people leave this world, but the joy of them being their selves always stays in the heads of people. The late Ozzy Osbourne was a singer and songwriter; he was also a popular social media personality, but now he only lives in the hearts of people. Talking about a celebrity who is not present in the world sometimes becomes a very insensitive topic, especially when the fans are too connected to the person and especially when the person is trying to show the grief in a completely different way.
Rod Stewart’s AI tribute to Ozzy Osbourne recently got mixed reviews, and most of them are negative. He made an AI-generated video where he mentioned Ozzy Osbourne and other celebrities. Let’s understand what was in the video that makes people hate the British rocker, Rod Stewart.
What the Video Showed
The video is named Eternal Stars, and in the video, Ozzy is the one who is holding a selfie stick in a cartoon-like “heaven” scene. There are many scenes in it where he is taking pictures with other big stars who have also passed away. He had a choice of just putting a slide of all the people’s performances, but he chose to make a weird concept video for it. Rod Stewart’s AI tribute to Ozzy Osbourne is weird, and many people found this act very odd and insensitive. For fans, it is very disrespectful to show that they are in heaven and taking selfies, but a few also thought that this is a good idea to make the fan feel that they are still alive in the heart.
Mixed Emotions: Humour or Disrespect?
The reaction of fans is mostly full of criticism; the writer Sloane Steel criticised it and said it’s the most disrespectful thing someone can do. Some found it very cringy, and Rod Stewart’s AI tribute to Ozzy Osbourne is nothing like a positive one. Popel also said that Rod Stewart should warn people about how he is going to represent a few people. Some people also make jokes about it and how they’re getting confused between a few people in videos. Some people also found it darkly funny, but the huge number was those who criticised it.
A Tribute with Good Intentions but Poor Execution
Rod Stewart’s AI tribute to Ozzy Osbourne didn’t have any bad intentions; he wrote that he misses his friend, and it’s a kind thing from his side. It looks like he tried to make sorrow a little less by thinking that he is up there living with other people, and he is happy, so he can feel less bad for his friend. He didn’t think that it could look so bad and be so insensitive to its fans.
Many things went wrong in the video; the video is an animated film with not-so-good graphics. The idea of turning one of the best artists into the background props just does not look good to their fans. The way the video was made and all its graphics were very uncomfortable, because watching a video where you know all the people who are in it are dead and doing this action like they are in heaven feels weird to most people.
If Rod Stewart’s AI tribute to Ozzy Osbourne were more decent, where he just posted him and his friend together with old memories, or a picture of other people together, it would sound less weird to the fans.
Broader Context: AI in Memorial Tribute Culture
Rod Stewart’s AI tribute to Ozzy Osbourne was not the first contribution by one celebrity to another one in AI form; many others did this, too. There are many similar videos, so the social media of celebrities who are not in the world, but people make different versions of videos about them, and almost every time, these kinds of videos receive a huge backlash. Many questions arise after this. Is it okay to use someone’s picture after death? Without having permission from their family and friends. People also question how making a funny video on such an insensitive topic can be a tribute to someone. Some people say that these videos get made with care by keeping the audience’s emotions in mind, or just for some attention and likes.
Looking Ahead: Tour & Damage Control
Rod Stewart’s tour starts on 15th August, and he will also start a residency in Las Vegas in August. There is no clear reply from Rod Stewart, and it’s not clear if he is going to remove the video because clearly he also received messages about his act. His reaction to this whole situation is not available anywhere, which shows he is very much trying to avoid the controversy, but in the future, people can ask the question about Rod Stewart’s AI tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, and then he may answer in the future, but for now, there is no action from his side.
