Yungblud Defends His Ozzy Osbourne Tribute After VMAs Criticism: “They Ain’t Real Rock Stars”

After getting the chance to perform at the Back to the Beginning concert, Yungblud, like countless others, paid his respects to the legendary Ozzy Osbourne. Although taking the stage with Black Sabbath one last time, Ozzy passed away a few weeks later at 76. Once celebrating his legacy, Yungblud teamed up with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry to honor Ozzy’s life with a special tribute at the MTV VMAs. While a special moment during the awards, Yungblud received some heated criticism, which caused the singer to bite back in a new interview. 

Videos by American Songwriter

Sitting down with Jack Osbourne to talk about the tribute performance, the topic of criticism took over the conversation. For those who might not know, not long after Yungblud’s performance, The Darkness guitarist, Dan Hawkins, considered it a “nail in the coffin of rock n roll.” 

Having heard the criticism from the musician, Yungblud seemed to take no offense at the statement as he believed it grew from jealousy. “I think the strangest thing about that was all I was trying to do was my best for your old man, because he gave me such a gift.” He added, “When people try and intellectualise a sense of spirit and six musicians on a stage going f**king love you man, it’s just bitter and jealous.” Jump to the 35-minute mark to hear his comments.

[RELATED: Listen to Aerosmith’s New Collaborative Single with Yungblud, “My Only Angel,” from Their Upcoming ‘One More Time’ EP]

Yungblud Saw Ozzy Tribute Criticism As A Way For Some To Stay Relevant

Loving the friendship he created with Ozzy during the last several years, Yungblud considered it an honor to take part in the tribute. But for Jack, he wasn’t too kind to Hawkins. “You were so much more involved… these people didn’t f**king know, they don’t know the f**king story of it, the things we know, and I was kind of like, ‘F**k you dude’.”

And according to Jack, Yungblud, born Dominic Harrison, was a part of the Osbourne family. “Dom meant something to my dad, my dad meant something to Dom.” 

Trying to understand the original statement from Hawkins, Yungblud even suggested it was a push to stay relevant. “They are doing the things they say we are doing – they’re trying to insert themselves into a conversation to obtain some kind of relevancy, on the back of us honouring one of the greatest rock stars that ever lived.”

In the end, Yungblud made it clear that his tribute came from a place of love, not ego – proving that honoring a legend like Ozzy is what real rock stars do.

(Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)