Ozzy Osbourne Tribute At VMAs Sparks Backlash; Justin Hawkins Calls Yungblud A Poser
The Darkness frontman expands on his brother Dan’s harsh MTV VMAs criticism.
Summary
- Justin Hawkins slams Yungblud over his MTV VMAs tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, calling it unauthentic.
- He mocked Yungblud’s shirtless leather look, describing it as ‘101 School of Rock stuff’ and labeling him a poser.
- The criticism included comparisons to David Hasselhoff, with Justin saying the performance felt like rock ’n’ roll through an Instagram filter.
Yungblud took the MTV VMAs stage on September 7 alongside Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Nuno Bettencourt in a performance meant to honor the late Ozzy Osbourne (watch below).
The tribute was billed as a celebration, but it hasn’t sat well with everyone. Dan Hawkins of The Darkness dismissed the set as “another nail in the coffin of rock n roll,” calling the group “bellends.”
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His brother, Justin Hawkins, has now backed those words on his podcast, expanding on why the performance rubbed them the wrong way.
Justin Explains the Gripes
On the show, Justin said part of the frustration comes from seeing Ozzy’s decades of influence distilled into a performance that didn’t feel connected to his legacy.
“I suppose one of the things that irks musicians of a certain age is to watch Ozzy invent heavy metal, then turn into this household name with the television series and his decades of being brilliant, and then you kind of think ‘What the @#$%! does all those decades of having this incredible legacy got to do with Yungblud?’” he said.
Justin argued that Yungblud appears to position himself as an heir to Ozzy without any real ties to the work that made the Black Sabbath frontman iconic.
Image and Posturing
Justin didn’t just critique the music. He also mocked Yungblud’s stage look at the VMAs, where the singer showed up shirtless in leather pants.
“Jim Morrison meets the bloke from Stone Temple Pilots meets everybody else who’s ever owned a pair of leather trousers,” Justin joked. “It’s 101 School of Rock stuff. It’s the latest in a long line of posers… For seven minutes, the world is looking at rock and this is what we’ve given them.”
He contrasted that with his respect for Nuno Bettencourt, noting that the guitarist still embodies authenticity in performance.
Disney Rock Vibe
The critique went further, with Justin likening Yungblud’s performance to something staged for television rather than rooted in rock culture.
“It’s like you’ve watched a movie about rock and metal, it’s like what a male stripper would do,” Justin said. “It doesn’t ring authentic. It’s rock ’n’ roll, but not as we know it. It kind of has this Disney veneer over the top, like it’s rock ’n’ roll seen through an Instagram filter of some sort.”
In a backhanded twist, he compared the vibe to David Hasselhoff.
“It’s actually like watching David Hasselhoff, who I think is one of the greats… So when I say that, it’s not actually an insult. I just mean that it’s like rock ’n’ roll done by somebody who, perhaps, was famous for driving a talking car and felt reassured by wearing little red shorts and looking after you at the beach. It’s like a television personality doing rock ’n’ roll.”
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Former Pink Floyd leader dismisses Ozzy's legacy and Sabbath's influence in blunt interview.
