Rod Stewarts bizarre AI tribute to Ozzy Osbourne features Kurt Cobain, Tupac, and more

Rod Stewarts bizarre AI tribute to Ozzy Osbourne features Kurt Cobain, Tupac, and more
By: Mashable Posted On: August 05, 2025 View: 1

What an odd thing to do!
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Rod Stewart performs during the
Rod Stewart, the man that you are. Credit: Mathew Tsang/Getty Images

Rod Stewart never ceases to amaze fans with his weird choices.

At Stewart's show in Charlotte, North Carolina, on July 29, he dedicated his song "Forever Young" to longtime friend Ozzy Osbourne and played an AI-generated video featuring the late Osbourne using a selfie stick to take pictures with other famous musicians who have died, including Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, Prince, Freddie Mercury, Tupac, Kurt Cobain, XXXTentacion, and Amy Winehouse.

One concert-goer called it a "new low" for AI use. A user on X pointed out that Stewart's use of an AI-generated video is a bit odd since he was friends with Osbourne and has performed with him — he could have simply used that footage instead.

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Now, I know what you might be thinking: "At some point, you have to take responsibility for your own actions." That is something my mom might say to me if I came home from a Stewart concert complaining about him having done something weird.

Stewart is a man with odd takes. For instance, he turned down a multi-million dollar gig in Saudi Arabia in 2023 because of the country's treatment of women and LGBTQ+ people, but, in 2025, publicly voiced support for far-right politician Nigel Farage, who famously has some controversial anti-LBGTQ+ and anti-choice views. Stewart is a man of many contradictions. So when he said in 2023 that AI could be the "destruction of mankind as we know it," we should have calculated that he might use AI for a bizarre tribute in 2025.

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Christianna Silva
Senior Culture Reporter

Christianna Silva is a senior culture reporter covering social platforms and the creator economy, with a focus on the intersection of social media, politics, and the economic systems that govern us. Since joining Mashable in 2021, they have reported extensively on meme creators, content moderation, and the nature of online creation under capitalism.

Before joining Mashable, they worked as an editor at NPR and MTV News, a reporter at Teen Vogue and VICE News, and as a stablehand at a mini-horse farm. You can follow her on Bluesky @christiannaj.bsky.social and Instagram @christianna_j.

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