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Topics: Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne, Celebrity, US News, Animals
Lucy Devine
Topics: Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne, Celebrity, US News, Animals
Animal rights organization PETA has shared a tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne - but people have been left confused.
Osbourne passed away earlier this week, with his family confirming his death in a touching statement on July 22.
It read: "It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love.
"We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time."
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Since Osbourne's death was announced, tributes for the Black Sabbath singer have been pouring in, including one from PETA, which shared some heartfelt words on X.
The organization said: "Rest in peace, Ozzy Osbourne - a true legend. PETA will remember the 'Prince of Darkness' most fondly for the gentle side he showed to animals. He'll be missed by animal advocates the world over."
PETA continued: "An icon and provocateur, Ozzy will be remembered not just for his music but for the compassion he showed animals, most recently cats, by using his fame to decry painful, crippling declawing mutilations.
"Ozzy may have taken center stage, but his wife Sharon and daughter Kelly were in perfect harmony with him when it came to defending animals. He will be deeply missed."
After reading the post, some people were slightly confused over the tribute, with fans referencing some controversial stories from over the years.
"I honestly thought this was a satire account posting this," one wrote.
While another said: "Bats and doves would like a word."
The fan was referring to an incident in 1982, in which Osbourne was on stage at a gig in Des Moines, Iowa.
A fan threw a bat on stage, which Osbourne believed to be made of rubber. He bit the head off the animal and it's still not clear if the bat was alive or dead when it was thrown.
Writing in his autobiography, I Am Ozzy, he explained: "Immediately, though, something felt wrong. Very wrong. For a start, my mouth was instantly full of this warm, gloopy liquid. Then the head in my mouth twitched.
"Somebody threw a bat. I just thought it was a rubber bat. And I picked it up and put it in my mouth. I bit into it. Oh no, it’s real. It was a real live bat."
However, he previously told BBC the bat was already dead.
"This bat comes on. I thought it was one of them Hallowe’en joke bats ‘cos it had some string around its neck," he said.
"I bite into it, and I look to my left and Sharon was going [gesturing no].
"And I’m like, what you talking about? She [says], 'It’s a dead real bat'. And I’m… I know now!"
Meanwhile, in another incident - while celebrating a new album in 1981 - Osbourne 'bit the head off' a dove, which was supposed to be released to mark the launch of his new music.
According to rock biographer Mick Wall - who wrote the book Black Sabbath: Symptoms of the Universe - Osbourne 'pulled out one of these doves and bit its head off just to shut [a PR] up'.
"Then I did it again with the next dove... spitting the head out on the table," he said
"That's when they threw me out. They said I'd never work for CBS again."
Osbourne later told Sounds magazine’s Garry Bushell that the dove was already dead.
"I wanted to make a real impression. The scam is the bird was dead. We were planning to release it there, but it died beforehand. So rather than waste it, I bit its head off. You should have seen their faces," he said.
"They all went white. They were speechless. That girl in the pictures was screaming. Eventually, a bloke came up and said, 'You’d better go'."
In another dark incident, Osbourne revealed in 2007 that during one drug-fueled rage, he ended up killing the family's 17 cats.
While speaking to The Scotsman, he said: "I was taking drugs so much I was a f*****. The final straw came when I shot all our cats. We had about 17, and I went crazy and shot them all. My wife found me under the piano in a white suit, a shotgun in one hand and a knife in the other."
Osbourne has been fully sober since 2013.
Despite the harrowing incidents, Osbourne partnered with PETA back in 2020 to speak out against the declawing of cats.
"Amputating a cat’s toes is twisted and wrong. If your couch is more important to you than your cat’s health and happiness, you don’t deserve to have an animal! Get cats a scratching post - don’t mutilate them for life," he said at the time.