Dan Hawkins, guitarist with The Darkness, has taken to Instagram to launch an apparent attack on those involved with MTV's tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne, an all-star segment filmed at this year's Video Music Awards at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York.
The performance featured Yungblud, Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, Black Sabbath keyboardist Adam Wakeman and band performing Ozzy's Crazy Train and Sabbath's Changes, before the Aerosmith duo of Steven Tyler and Joe Perry joined the action for Mama, I'm Coming Home.
The VMAs have been criticised by some for exploiting Osbourne's passing, and Hawkins – younger brother of The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins – appears to agree, calling the medley "Another nail in the coffin of rock'n'roll" before going on to describe it as "cynical, nauseating and, more importantly, shit."
"Makes me sick how people jump on this shit to further their own careers," he adds, alongside the hashtag '#whatabunchofcunts.'
The unexpected outburst has led some commenters to suggest that Hawkins may not be referring to those onstage, but to pop singer Ariana Grande, whose reaction to the performance can be seen in the short video posted by the guitarist, which features the caption, "What a bunch of bellends."
Yungblud, who wore Ozzy Osbourne's necklace and a pair of leather pants once owned by Iggy Pop at the VMAs, also appeared at Black Sabbath's historic Back To The Beginning show in Birmingham in July alongside Tyler and Bettencourt.
The Darkness are currently on tour in the US, and arrive in Europe at the end of the month. Full dates below.
The Darkness North American Tour 2025
Sep 09: Allentown Archer Music Hall, PA
Sep 10: New York Irving Plaza, NY
Sep 12: Toronto Phoenix Concert Theatre, Canada
Sep 13: Kitchener Elements, Canda
Sep 14: Montréal Club Soda, Canada
Sep 16: Indianapolis Egyptian Room at Old National Centre, IN
Sep 17: Detroit Saint Andrew's Hall, MI
Sep 19: Minneapolis Varsity Theater, MN
Sep 20: Milwaukee The Rave/Eagles Club, WI
Sep 21: Cleveland Agora Theatre and Ballroom, OH
Sep 30: Bruxelles Ancienne Belgique, Belgium
Oct 02: Tilburg Escape Room 013, Netherlands
Oct 03: Hamburg Steinway & Sons Fabrik, Germany
Oct 04: København Poolen, Denmark
Oct 06: Oslo Rockefeller Music Hall, Norway
Oct 07: Johanneshov Fållan, Sweden
Oct 10: Berlin Metropol, Germany
Oct 11: Bratislava Majestic Music Club, Slovakia
Oct 13: Zurich Komplex, Switzerland
Oct 14: München Backstage, Germany
Oct 16: Milan Alcatraz, Italy
Oct 17: Ciampino Orion Live Club, Italy
Oct 18: Nonantola Vox Club, Italy
Oct 21: Barcelona Sala Apolo, Spain
Oct 22: Madrid Sala Riviera, Spain
Oct 24: Lisboa Cineteatro Capitólio, Portugal
Oct 26: Bilbao Santana 27, Spain
Oct 28: Luxembourg City den Atelier, Luxembourg
Oct 29: Paris Élysée Montmartre, France
Oct 30: Köln Live Music Hall, Germany
Nov 07: Houston Warehouse Live Midtown, TX
Nov 08: Austin Emo's, TX
Nov 09: Dallas The Echo Lounge & Music Hall, TX
Nov 12: Los Angeles The Wiltern, CA
Nov 13: San Francisco The Fillmore, CA
Nov 15: Boise Knitting Factory Concert House, ID
Nov 17: Portland Revolution Hall, OR
Nov 18: Vancouver Commodore Ballroom, Canada
Nov 19: Seattle The Showbox, WA
Nov 21: Salt Lake City The Depot, UT
Nov 22: Denver Summit Music Hall, CO
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