Rod Stewart has raised legal eyebrows over the use of an AI-generated video of celebrities with the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Tina Turner and Freddie Mercury. During his US tour Stewart, 80, has been dedicating Forever Young to the Black Sabbath frontman, who died on July 22 aged 76. The video captioned "eternal stars" featured the likeness of several deceased stars including Prince, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, George Michael, Whitney Houston, Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Aaliyah, Tina Turner, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury, Tupac Shakur and the rapper XXXTentacion. Millions of people have seen the video on social media with some describing it is as weird and distasteful.
Legal experts have weighed in on the controversy over the use of the tribute. Intellectual property barrister, Mark Engleman, suggested there could be issues of "false endorsements". He told The Times: “The most immediate is passing off, by false endorsement. The estates of the dead artists might well consider claims that even dead artists, like dead trademarks, retain a goodwill associated with their names and images which would otherwise benefit the estate, unless Rod Stewart obtained the licence of those images."
Frank Jennings, a partner at HCR Law, told the publication it is "unlikely Stewart will face legal action in the UK".
"Unlike in other jurisdictions, English law does not recognise a standalone ‘image right’ or ‘right of personality’,” he added.
It's not all bad news for Rod as some of the deceased celebrities family members have spoken out about the tribute.
Tupac Shakur’s stepbrother, Mopreme Shakur, is not concerned about the video. He told TMZ: “I’m pretty sure we all love Rod Stewart. I’m not sure about the legalities of it, but I have no problem with him memorialising the greats. Personally, I’m good with it.”
XXXTentacion’s mother Cleopatra Bernard said she had no issues with the video and was happy to know her son made a large enough impact to be included.
Express.co.uk has reached out to Rod Stewart's representatives for comment.
