EXCLUSIVE: Rolling Stones Savaged for using De-Aging Tech in Latest Music Video — 'Just Accept You're a Bunch of Walking Skeletons!'
The Rolling Stones faced ridicule for using de-aging effects in a video.
May 17 2026, Published 5:30 p.m. ET
The Rolling Stones are being mocked after using artificial intelligence to transform themselves into younger versions of their weathered selves in the music video for their new single In the Stars, with critics telling RadarOnline.com the band are refusing to grow old gracefully.
The legendary British rock group – frontman Mick Jagger, 82, guitarist Keith Richards, also 82, and guitarist Ronnie Wood, 78 – appear digitally de-aged by roughly five decades in the newly released promo, directed by François Rousselet and produced using Deep Voodoo deepfake technology.
The Rolling Stones released a stylized music video for their new single.
Rolling Stones AI Video Sparks Backlash
Director François Rousselet utilized advanced deepfake technology for the project.
The heavily stylized clip accompanies the band's latest track and showcases AI-generated versions of the musicians resembling their swaggering younger selves from the 1970s heyday that helped turn the Stones into one of the biggest rock acts in history.
While some fans praised the visual experiment, others ridiculed the veteran musicians online, accusing them of clinging desperately to youth instead of embracing old age – and have branded them "The Rolling Bones."
One music industry insider told us: "A lot of people found the video unintentionally depressing because the Rolling Stones built their entire image around rebellion, authenticity and refusing to conform, yet now they're digitally airbrushing decades off themselves like insecure influencers terrified of aging.
"Some fans genuinely think they should just embrace being older rock legends instead of trying to artificially recreate their youth through AI."
Fans Mock Mick Jagger And Keith Richards
Critics mocked the veteran rock group for clinging to their youth.
The source added: "Critics feel the video almost crosses into self-parody because audiences already know Mick, Keith and Ronnie are elderly men. They've earned iconic status precisely because they survived the excesses of rock'n'roll and kept performing into their eighties. Some people online were basically saying: 'Just accept you're a bunch of walking skeletons… and own it.'"
Despite the backlash, the Stones have publicly embraced advances in artificial intelligence and digital production technology in recent years.
Richards previously defended AI's growing role in entertainment, saying: "AI is like anything else. It can either be a tool or it can be a toy. But it's like how you use it."
Mick Jagger Defends Artificial Intelligence
Mick Jagger expressed immense enthusiasm for modern digital production tools.
Jagger has also spoken enthusiastically about the tech.
In 2022, he said: "We're already in an AI world of doing this stuff, and you can do a lot of musical stuff with not very complicated computerisation as well."
Another source close to the production insisted the band viewed the video as playful experimentation rather than an attempt to conceal their age.
The insider said: "The Stones were never trying to fool anyone into believing they still physically look 30 years old. The whole point was to visually reconnect with different eras of their career and celebrate the longevity of the band through modern technology. Mick and Keith are fascinated by new creative tools and didn't see this as vanity – they saw it as performance art."
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Rolling Stones AI Debate Divides Music Industry
The video reignited intense debates regarding ethics and artistic manipulation.
The video's release has reignited broader debates within the music industry over artificial intelligence and the ethics of digitally manipulating performers.
Some artists and fans fear AI risks eroding authenticity, while others view it as simply the latest evolution in visual effects and creative experimentation.
One entertainment insider said about the Stones' use of the technology: "The irony is that The Rolling Stones became icons partly because they always looked real – even when they looked rough, dangerous or exhausted. That lived-in quality was central to their mythology. So when audiences suddenly see these uncanny AI versions of them looking smooth-skinned and youthful again, it creates a strange disconnect that some fans find fascinating and others find almost grotesque."
