Yungblud has responded to “bitter, jealous” critics of his Ozzy Osbourne tribute at the VMAs.
The Doncaster rocker (real name Dominic Harrison) paid tribute to The Prince of Darkness – who died aged 76 last July – by joining forces with Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Extreme’s Nuno Bettencourt at the VMAs in September.
His tribute attracted criticism from the likes of The Darkness, whose guitarist Dan Hawkins called the performance “another nail in the coffin of rock n roll” and called Yungblud and co “a bunch of bellends”. Dan’s brother Justin – frontman for The Darkness – would later expand on Dan’s comments on his YouTube channel, describing the performance as “rock n’ roll seen through an Instagram filter of some sort” and adding: “Yungblud seems to have positioned himself as a natural heir to the Ozzy legacy, having nothing to do with the really important stuff.”
Now, Yungblud has responded to criticisms of his tribute on the podcast of Jack Osbourne, son of Ozzy. At the 35 minute mark, a visibly emotional Jack began the conversation by telling Yungblud: “You were so much more involved… these people didn’t fucking know, they don’t know the fucking story of it, the things we know, and I was kind of like, ‘Fuck you dude’. Dom meant something to my dad, my dad meant something to Dom. I texted you the night of the gig and I said, ‘fucking crush it’.”
Yungblud replied: “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 then referenced the gold cross Ozzy gave Yungblud just before he played Black Sabbath’s final show. “When people try and intellectualise a sense of spirit and six musicians on a stage going fucking love you man, it’s just bitter and jealous,” he added.
“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.”
Yungblud went on to say that he “loved” Ozzy and planned to channel his famous performance style – including his wide eyes, “ha ha has” and hands – because “what the fuck else are we gonna do?”
He then shared that he had texted Ozzy’s phone the night before the gig, promising to “give it everything I’ve got”, as he was losing sleep over “the pressure of the situation – in a commercial setting, in a very bubblegum show, you don’t want it to come across as… you know what I’m saying? And we insisted on everything be[ing] live – I think we were the only fucking people playing live, to be honest. No shade.”
Yungblud then said those criticising the performance weren’t “real rock stars”, reasoning to Jack that “anyone bigger than you or more emotionally evolved will never talk down on you. Your dad [Ozzy] would never do that, [Metallica‘s] James Hetfield would never do that, Kerry King would never do that. [They] don’t need to. They’re just like, you know what? That’s sick.”
Yungblud concluded: “People forget that rock is dictated by the people. The people are what make something rock and roll. And as far as I’m concerned, the people fucking loved it, and we got to put your dad’s face in front of another 100million people that night and keep that legacy alive.”
Jack then finished the conversation on a lighter note, noting Ariana Grande’s shocked reaction to the tribute. “It was fucking great,” Yungblud laughed, before adding: “Everyone’s face was like, ‘what the fuck?’ It was fucking hilarious.”
In a subsequent video about Yungblud’s VMAs tribute, Justin Hawkins expanded on his thoughts: “What I was saying was that it comes off like a TV personality doing rock […] We can’t live in this culture where criticism is not allowed. When I’ve done embarrassing things, people have called me out, and I appreciate that kind of guidance and criticism. That’s how you become a better artist.”
Yungblud previously told NME about his relationship with Osbourne shortly after his passing, saying: “Ozzy was always my north star. Ozzy Osborne and David Bowie meant everything to me. Ozzy was a character in my life who was a reflection of everything I went through.
“I was always a bit over the top. I was always seen to be a bit crazy. I was always seen to be a bit loud, but when some people saw that as a negative, Ozzy would provide me with the hope that there was an avenue for someone like me in the world.”
He also shared the best advice the Black Sabbath frontman ever gave him, telling Jackass actor Steve-O: “The most beautiful thing he ever said to me was, ‘Never compromise. They’ll get it later’.”
Elsewhere, Yungblud and Aerosmith have teamed up for a soaring new single called ‘My Only Angel’.
