BREAKING SH0CK: Rod’s AI Heaven tribute to Ozzy sparks public outrage, demands to Boycott and Cancel tour! “Rod, APOLOGISE!”

OPINION

Rod Stewart is facing backlash from his fans (Image: Getty)

Rod Stewart has made a devastating blunder with his tribute to the late, great Prince of Darkness – and the 80-year-old should know better. Maggie May hitmaker Rod has been touring the world with his One Last Time tour before he returns to Las Vegas casino Caesars Palace in September to restart his residency. And since Ozzy Osbourne d13d last month, he’s been dedicating a portion of the show to the Black Sabbath icon.

Ozzy d13d at the age of 76 after a long battle with Parkinson’s, leaving behind his wife Sharon Osbourne and their children Kelly, Aimee and Jack, as well as Jessica, Louis and Elliot. And fittingly, each night of his tour since then, Rod has dedicated his 1988 track Forever Young to the rock god.

Recently, however, Rod has come under fire – and rightly so – for including an AI-generated video in his tribute. The viral clip, versions of which have been circulating on the internet since Ozzy passed, sees him meeting other d3ad celebrities in ‘heaven’. The Prince of Darkness is seen taking selfies with stars like Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury and Prince, even clutching a selfie stick as the AI-celebs grin unnervingly at the camera.

Did nobody in Rod’s PR team step in and let him know what a terrible move this was? I’m very much aware how easy it is for the older generation to fall for AI slop, as is any Facebook user with well-meaning family friends. It’s endearing, if cringe, when it’s your Aunty Margaret sharing these videos. It’s a whole other matter for one of the biggest celebrities in the world to be sharing it, while a team of yes-men around him do nodding dog impressions.

Some fans are even branding it “intentional sabotage” on the part of his team. Just think how many people would have had to agree to showcase that abomination of a video before it was projected around the arenas Rod’s visiting on the North American leg of his tour?

 

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Not only are these videos sending the message that yes, it’s absolutely A-OK to rely on artificial intelligence to create art for us, rather than human artists who risk their entire livelihoods disappearing when computers become even more sentient than they already are – but it’s lazy. Rod is showing a video he had no hand in creating, that has no personal element to it, in tribute to one of the greatest musicians the world has ever seen.

Gone are the days when artists would instead make a rousing speech, or even show video memories of the person in question. I’m not asking for much. Just a low-key performance of Forever Young with a nod to Ozzy beforehand would be more respectful than this tripe.

Rod needs to apologise – stat. Or else he faces a growing revolt from his fans, who are already up in arms over the so-called “tribute”.