Five musicians who have issues Ozzy Osbourne: “I find the man to be stupid”
In perhaps one of the funniest reality television moments ever, a perplexed Ozzy Osbourne emerges to ask his wife, who snuck into his room and stole his beers. “Hi, Darling,” Sharon Osbourne greets her husband. “Someone has been in my room and taken my beers away from my room,” the man slurs in a typical manner. He grunts and scratches his head in confusion, the lesser-known sinister undertone taking a backseat as was usually the case in 2002, particularly with The Osbournes.
The point is that Ozzy Osbourne has always been incredibly easy to like. His effortless sense of humour, authentic demeanour, and exceptional musical talent have been defining qualities all throughout his career, despite the obvious controversies that have peered along the way. When a person like Osbourne is immediately likeable, it makes many of his shortcomings easy to overlook, even if such personality drawbacks are difficult to ignore.
This was something deeply rooted in the culture of the metal world. By its very nature, metal fostered a lawless, rebellious spirit, taking the defiance of rock ‘n’ roll to new extremes. Musicians mirrored the aggressive, reckless energy of the music by doing outrageous things, like throwing TVs out of hotel windows, getting into after-hours fist fights, biting the heads off bats, snorting lines of ants, or even licking up their own urine—all things Osbourne might accomplish in just one wild night.
Many of these nasty antics have been covered repeatedly, most famously in the Mötley Crüe memoir The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band. Aside from various incriminating “confessions” from the band, Osbourne stands out as one of the culture’s ring leaders, appearing more notorious than even some of the Crüe could stomach. “We thought we had elevated animal behaviour to an art form,” Nikki Sixx writes in an early chapter. “But then we met Ozzy.”
For many, Osbourne’s behaviours are too extreme or performative to be respected, despite everything he achieved for the metal world within Black Sabbath and later as a solo artist. His ongoing controversies and attitudes towards his historical behaviours remain baffling to many and a signifier that maybe this isn’t someone to put on a pedestal. Maybe Osbourne disgraced himself a long time ago, and the world is only just beginning to catch up.
That said, several figures have appeared against the grain over the years and expressed their disdain for the metal maestro. Let’s take a look at some of their criticisms…
Musicians who hate Ozzy Osbourne:
Ronnie James Dio
Replacing one of the most legendary metal frontmen in music history would be impossible for anybody. However, despite the initial trepidation following Osbourne’s departure and Ronnie James Dio stepping in as his replacement, responses to his addition were positively surprising. Although he appeared in stark contrast to his predecessor, Dio helped to bolster a shockingly successful era for the band, mainly thanks to his blend of traditional doom with a more melodic, soaring style.
However, Dio wasn’t the biggest Osbourne fan, and not just because of their competitive crossed wires. Dio knew from the beginning that he wouldn’t be stepping into Osbourne’s shoes, partially because he didn’t intend on becoming a lower-quality carbon copy but mainly because he plainly disagreed with everything Osbourne stood for.
He also didn’t want to appear in the form of the archetypal metal musician who disrespected his peers and fans. “The things that Ozzy has said, to me, is like duelling with an unarmed man,” he told a reporter in the 1980s. “It really is. I feel like someone who has a sword against someone who has no clue what a weapon is. I find the man to be stupid, totally devoid of intelligence, an animal.” Taking this a step further, he criticised Osbourne’s talent, adding: “I doubt very much that Ozzy could carry a tune if you put a radio in a suitcase and gave it to him in his hand. I sincerely doubt that, and I know it for a fact because I’ve heard this from the people who have worked with him for 12 years.”
Justin Hawkins
Justin Hawkins has remained a significant presence in the contemporary music scene, not just with the enduring appeal of The Darkness but as a defining voice of expertise. Often praising his fellow peers like a music fan himself, Hawkins has been a vocal advocate for the evolution of rock music, offering anecdotes, commentary, and humour often through platforms like YouTube and his series, Justin Hawkins Rides Again.
Hawkins’ stage charisma and vocal range earned him comparisons to rock legends like Queen’s Freddie Mercury when The Darkness were gaining their first taste of success. Naturally, it might be easy to assume that his paths didn’t usually converge with bands like Black Sabbath, but Hawkins found himself in the same space as Osbourne twice. However, both times weren’t exactly anything to write home about.
In fact, one instance occurred in 2018 at the Sweden Rock Festival. Hawkins recalled how Osbourne’s indifference to acknowledging and respecting his musical peers left a sour taste in his mouth. In his view, Osbourne fostered a cold atmosphere backstage, which just didn’t sit right with him. “Backstage in lockdown. Ozzy is arriving,” Hawkins wrote on Twitter at the time, “So nobody is allowed to leave their dressing rooms! Heaven forbid the main attraction should have to endure a counter with a fellow artiste.”
Hawkins also experienced a strange dynamic with the former Sabbath frontman once when they proposed that The Darkness interview him. After it was scheduled that they would be picked up in a “blacked-in” car to obscure their destination, he “(im)politely declined.”
Bill Ward
Despite witnessing Black Sabbath’s rise to unexpected heights from the very beginning, Bill Ward seems to harbour a lingering disdain for his former bandmate, to the point where he has consistently refused invitations to reunite. The rift initially appeared to stem from financial disagreements, which led to a growing distance between them. However, over time, it has become clear that deeper, more personal issues may also be fueling the divide.
In 2012, Ward was invited to join the band for a reunion, but he sat it out. Then, after being invited again around three years later, the drummer declined again, implying that Osbourne had treated him poorly. “The often inaccurate statements about me as a person and as a musician have caused me to be guarded and be especially detached emotionally and spiritually from Ozzy,” Ward wrote on social media at the time. “His rhetoric above all has brought me the most discord.”
It’s unclear what Osbourne said or did that irked Ward, but several comments, particularly about his inability to perform due to his weight, seem to point towards a necessary reaction. The only signifier that Ward might finally be ready to sidestep any lingering bitterness is his recent decision to rejoin the band, although it’s unclear when this may occur.
Bob Daisley
In the metal world, musicians usually get on with another collaborator, like a house on fire, until one day, suddenly, for whatever reason, they don’t anymore. Bob Daisley cropped up in Osbourne’s life like a guardian angel, helping him create his first run of solo albums and contributing significantly to Osbourne’s post-Sabbath sound. That is until one day, Osbourne dismissed Daisley from his repertoire, inciting a long battle on Daisley’s part to receive the appropriate credit owed for his involvement.
Despite winning a lawsuit in 1986 that granted Daisley songwriting credits for his contributions, his feuding with the infamous rocker was far from over. Another lawsuit was filed in 2002 by Daisley, who claimed Osbourne denied him royalties, and then another appeared in 2016 after Daisley stated Osbourne refused him $2 million in royalties from ‘Crazy Train’. Certain elements of Daisley’s requests have been satisfied in one way or another along the way, like replacing some of the songs with a session musician’s bass, but it’s unlikely that the guitarist will ever respect his former peer ever again.
Ted Nugent
Ted Nugent is undoubtedly one of the more controversial and divisive figures in rock music. Known for his outspoken nature, Nugent frequently shares his strong opinions, even on topics that might seem unrelated to him or his music. His name has become closely associated with right-wing rhetoric, which is why it’s not surprising that he clashes with Osbourne’s public persona, lifestyle, and beliefs.
Commenting on The Osbournes back in 2002, Nugent said: “I think it’s an indictment to the soullessness of modern man that we get a kick out of witnessing a magnificent creature reduced to a blithering hopeless idiot.” Of course, the Osbournes were greatly offended, with Sharon blurting something along the lines of, “Tell him go fuck himself!” However, two decades later, Nugent still seems interested in tearing down anything they choose to say or do.
More recently, he criticised Osbourne’s decision to relocate to England from Los Angeles, reframing the entire prospect as something politically misconstrued and not at all anything to do with his declining health. He said: “Even [Osbourne] is getting the hell out of Los Angeles because he’d rather live in a tyrant England than in a shooting zone that is orchestrated — a shooting zone, a murder capital that is orchestrated by the court system, the district attorney, the prosecuting attorneys of L.A. county.”
