Yungblud walked the red carpet at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards wearing the gold cross necklace Ozzy Osbourne gave him, a public gesture of mourning and remembrance for the late Black Sabbath singer.
The British rocker, born Dominic Harrison, arrived shirtless in a leather jacket and low-rise matching pants, the gleaming cross suspended at his throat. Osbourne, who died in July at 76, had given Yungblud the piece while they were recording a music video for Yungblud’s song "The Funeral" in 2022. The two had formed a close friendship in the years that followed, and Yungblud returned the favor by presenting Osbourne with a custom cross during the singer’s final show this past July.
Yungblud posted a tribute on Instagram after Osbourne’s death, writing that the cross around his neck was "the most precious thing I own" and saying he planned to play Black Sabbath’s "Changes" every night going forward. He is not a nominee at the VMAs but is scheduled to perform a tribute to Osbourne at New York’s UBS Arena alongside guitarist Nuno Bettencourt and Aerosmith members Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. When asked by Billboard what to expect from the moment, Yungblud said fans should expect "good ’ol rock and roll in the name of the king."
The exchange of necklaces traces back to the 2022 video session that brought the two artists together professionally and personally. Those sessions evolved into a mentorship and friendship; Yungblud frequently cited Osbourne as an influence and publicly honored him after his passing. News of the necklaces—Osbourne’s gift to Yungblud and Yungblud’s custom cross given at Osbourne’s last show—surfaced in social posts and interviews following the summer death.
The VMAs tribute follows a summer in which several artists and collaborators publicly reflected on Osbourne’s career and the impact he had on rock music. Yungblud’s decision to wear the necklace to one of music’s highest-profile television events underscored the personal dimension of that impact and signaled the prominence of Osbourne’s influence on younger performers.
At the awards show, Yungblud and his fellow performers were expected to deliver a compact homage rather than a full-scale set, reflecting the often brief, ceremonial nature of televised musical tributes. Yungblud has said he intends to keep Osbourne’s memory alive in his performances, a practice he has already begun implementing since July.
The appearance on the VMAs red carpet and the planned tribute performance are the latest moments in a public series of exchanges between the two musicians that began with collaboration and continued through friendship and mutual gestures of respect.