The Darkness guitarist Dan Hawkins has appeared to lash out at the tribute performance to Ozzy Osbourne at the MTV VMAs on Sunday.
Osbourne, who died aged 76 on 22 July, was remembered with a medley of Black Sabbath and solo tracks performed by British singer Yungblud and members of Aerosmith during the awards ceremony.
Sabbath keyboardist Adam Wakeman also joined the group for the renditions of “Crazy Train”, “Changes” and “Mama, I’m Coming Home”, at the show in Long Island, New York.
While it received positive reactions from many, Hawkins claimed it was “another nail in the coffin of rock n roll”.
“Cynical, nauseating and more importantly, s***,” he wrote on Instagram alongside a clip of the performance, which also showed an astonished-looking Ariana Grande cheering the group on.
“What a bunch of bellends,” Hawkins wrote.
He concluded: “Makes me sick how people jump on this s*** to further their own careers.”
The Independent has contacted Yungblud’s representatives for comment.
Yungblud has often spoken of his admiration for Osbourne, describing him in a recent interview with The Independent as a “constant presence” in his life.
“Ozzy was my North Star for everything I’ve ever done – he was a symbol of individualism and of being completely yourself without compromise,” the musician born Dominic Harrison said.
Osbourne died just weeks after the event in his hometown of Birmingham, where other legendary acts including Metallica, Guns N’ Roses and Alice in Chains came together to celebrate Black Sabbath’s legacy.
Yungblud was widely praised for his cover of the Sabbath song “Changes”, with many Sabbath fans suggesting he had brought the heavy metal pioneer to the attention of younger generations.
The musician said he was “genuinely surprised” by the positive reception to his performance: “I think rock is a beautiful genre because it doesn't give its crown up easily – rock is all about musicianship and honoring what's come before,” he said.
“So I knew it was an opportunity to show the world how much I love rock and how much I love Ozzy Osbourne.”
Hawkins received some backlash in the comments section, according to NME, with one follower apparently writing: “I don’t understand what pisses you off here.
“All these dudes performed with and for Ozzy at his Back to the Beginning concert and are friends of his… The VMAs wanted to honour Ozzy and his legacy! I love you dude, but I don’t get it.”
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