Yungblud has responded to critics of his Ozzy Osbourne tribute at the MTV VMAs calling them “bitter and jealous.”
The Doncaster-born musician performed at the MTV VMAs last month (Sept. 7) alongside members of Aerosmith, giving an impassioned rendition of Black Sabbath song “Changes.” Yungblud – real name Dominic Harrison – also sang the 1972 hit at Ozzy’s final show at Villa Park, Birmingham on July 5 at the all-star Back to the Beginning tribute show; Osbourne died of a heart attack a fortnight later (July 22), aged 76.
Speaking on a podcast with Ozzy’s son Jack, the pair discussed criticism of his performance from fellow musicians. Dan Hawkins, guitarist for British rock band The Darkness, wrote on his Instagram that Yungblud’s performance with Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry was “cynical, nauseating and, more importantly, s–t.”
Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins added that Yungblud was the “latest in a long line of – I’m sorry to say it – poseurs” and that he “comes off like a TV personality doing rock.”
Speaking on the Trying Not To Die podcast, Yungblud and Jack Osbourne responded to the criticism. “You will never see someone that’s bigger or more emotionally evolved than you talk s–t on you,” said Yungblud in the episode. “You ain’t ever going to see f–king [Metallica singer] James Hetfield slag off a young rock star, because he’s James f–king Hetfield. They don’t need to insert themselves into a conversation. Because they’re emotionally evolved and they know what it takes to get somewhere.”
Jack Osbourne added his thoughts on the flap. “After the VMAs there were some rock stars slagging you off and being like ‘oh, he’s just clout chasing and jumping on the bandwagon of Ozzy passing,’” said Jack. “I want to use this opportunity to talk about that.”
“You were so much more involved,” he continued of Yungblud’s involvement in Ozzy’s life. In 2022, Ozzy appeared in the music video to Yungblud’s “The Funeral” and became a mentor to the singer in his final years. Osbourne continued, “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’. Dom meant something to my dad, my dad meant something to Dom.”
Yungblud added, “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. When people try and intellectualize a sense of spirit and six musicians on a stage going ‘f–king love you man’, it’s just bitter and jealous.
“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. And then they talk about authenticity and stuff like that. I just loved your dad.”
See the full conversation below.
Yungblud released his fourth studio album, Idols, in June, which topped the U.K. Albums Chart and peaked at No. 15 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart. A collaborative EP with Aerosmith, One More Time, will be released on Nov. 21.
