Yungblud Fires Back At Critics Over Ozzy VMAs Tribute

Yungblud isn’t holding back. After his bold tribute to Ozzy Osbourne at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards drew no shortage of heat from fellow artists, the English rocker lashed out at critics as “bitter and jealous.”

The tribute, a star studded medley featuring Joe Perry, Steven Tyler, and Nuno Bettencourt, tackled iconic Ozzy tracks like ‘Changes,’ ‘Mama I’m Coming Home,’ and ‘Crazy Train.’ For many fans it was a moving homage; for some musicians, it was a bridge too far.

Dan Hawkins of The Darkness was among the loudest voices against Yungblud. Posting on Instagram, Hawkins slammed the performance:

“Another nail in the coffin for rock’n’roll. Cynical, nauseating and more importantly, sht. Makes me sick how people jump on this sht to further their own careers.”

On Jack Osbourne’s Trying Not to Die podcast, Yungblud responded to the backlash head on, declaring he doesn’t “let the negativity get to me.” He added:

“The thing about hate is you will never see someone that’s bigger or more emotionally evolved than you talk shit on you.”

He didn’t stop there. Yungblud invoked heavy names to underline his point:

“You ain’t ever going to see f**king James Hetfield slag off a young rock star … They’re not going to insert themselves into a conversation because they’re emotionally evolved.”

He called out his detractors as being less about art and more about ego:

“They are doing the things they say we are doing. They are trying to insert themselves into the conversation to obtain some kind of relevancy on the back of us honouring one of the greatest rock stars that ever lived.”

Jack Osbourne got visibly emotional defending the tribute, saying:

“You were so much more involved, and we respected that you respected that. But these people didn’t f**king know.”

He also revealed that before performance night he texted Yungblud: “F**king crush it.” Yungblud carried that message with him onto stage.

“All I was trying to do was my best for your old man because he gave me such a gift.”

In a sea of criticism, Yungblud chose fire over retreat, and made sure everyone heard it.