In a recent reveal made on X, Ripple Chief Technology Officer, David Schwartz, admitted that he had written fake fan questions in the past throughout an online Q&A session with Black Sabbath.
He specifically tailored the experience to include Ozzy Osbourne.
Schwartz, then employed with WebMaster, admitted that he was the person typing out live responses from the band using a live chat system called ConferenceRoom.
What was meant to be an original, fan-driven experience became a personal “failure” in his own narrative despite being seen as a success by other participants.
Schwartz’s role was to facilitate fan engagement with the legendary band, but he actually dictated the discourse in an attempt to accommodate the constraints of behind-the-scenes circumstances.
Lack of Sufficient Fan Interest in Band Members Led to Fabricated Engagement
Schwartz explained that the engagement was strongly skewed in favor of Ozzy Osbourne, as nearly all the fan queries were for the legendary frontman exclusively.
“I specifically asked the moderators to give me some questions that weren’t for Ozzy. There just weren’t any,” he recalls.
As part of an effort to maintain the sanctity of the overall band experience, Schwartz proceeded and cycled ahead-written questions to the other members of the band.
Lack of natural interaction with the rest of the group later compelled him to fill in gaps with invented interactions.
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Schwartz Used Manager-Curated Answers to Fill Gaps
To carry out the illusion of actual interaction, Schwartz employed a strategy of backup involving canned questions and scripted replies.
According to his post, he discussed the matter with the band via phone, then edited the responses from the members by inserting pre-written replies from the band manager.
“I passed the canned question around to all the other band members on rotation. And I meshed what I could interpret from what they said with the canned answer from their manager,” Schwartz admitted.
Less than a handful, “two or three”, of legitimate fan questions made it to the band.
The improvisational approach, while functionally successful, placed Schwartz in a position of conflicted feelings and frustration due to its deviation from the interactive genuineness he had intended to offer.
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Ripple Exec Regrets the Experience
Although the session was mostly considered successful at the time by observers, Schwartz himself described being overcome with remorse for the trickery of the Q&A.
“Back then, I felt very bad about it. It wasn’t the genuine celebrity interaction that I had hoped it to be and which I struggled to achieve,” he said.
The admission is made against the backdrop of some introspection in the music industry following the recent death of Ozzy Osbourne at the age of 76.
For Schwartz, the memory is bitter with professional shame and private culpability, especially now that Osbourne has died and the moment can no longer be repaired or relived.
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Osbourne’s Death Spurs Meme Coin Rush
Following Osbourne’s death, the cryptocurrency community responded with a surge of activity in memecoins based on the rock legend.
One of them, The Mad Man (OZZY), went up 16,800% in price with a value traded at $0.003851 and a market capitalization of $3.85 million.
The phenomenon is merely an offshoot of a larger trend, as the passing of celebrities triggers intense waves of speculation on themed cryptocurrencies.
As tributes continue to flood in from across the globe for Osbourne, his legacy not only remains on the music front but also leaves an unexpected imprint in the realm of digital property.
The crossover between rock history and crypto culture is adding yet another layer to the saga that has been unfolding regarding the late legend and others who belong to his universe.