Ozzy Osbourne’s family joined thousands of mourners who gathered on Wednesday to pay their respects to the rock icon.
The late Black Sabbath frontman’s funeral procession took place in Birmingham on Wednesday afternoon, ahead of a more private service for family and friends.
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In addition to the hundreds upon hundreds of fans who lined the streets as part of his funeral procession, the late rocker’s wife, Sharon Osbourne, and their three children, Aimee, Kelly and Jack, were also pictured Birmingham.
Jack, Sharon, Kelly and Aimee Osbourne pictured at the funeral procession of Ozzy Osbourne
Victoria Jones/Shutterstock
A tearful Sharon was seen embracing Birmingham’s Lord Mayor Zafar Iqbal, who declared that Ozzy was “more than a music legend — he was a son of Birmingham”.
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“We know how much this moment will mean to his fans,” Iqbal added.
Sharon Osbourne embraces the Lord Mayor of Birmingham
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As Ozzy’s hearse passed – adorned with purple flowers including a wreath spelling out the Grammy winner’s name – fans were also heard chanting: “Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy, oi, oi, oi.”
Two weeks before his death, Ozzy and his Black Sabbath bandmates reunited for one last show, dubbed Back To The Beginning, which saw around 45,000 fans gathering at Birmingham’s Villa Park stadium to see him performing tracks like War Pigs and Paranoid.
Ozzy Osbourne’s hearse was adorned with purple floral arrangements
Victoria Jones/Shutterstock
The streets of Birmingham were lined with people hoping to pay their respects to rock royalty
Victoria Jones/Shutterstock
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Electronic billboards also appeared around Birmingham with the message: “Ozzy forever… Birmingham will always love you.”
Victoria Jones/Shutterstock
Fans chanted “Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy, oi, oi, oi!” as the Black Sabbath’s hearse passed by
Victoria Jones/Shutterstock
As well as his children, Aimee, Kelly and Jack – the latter two of whom rose to fame when they appeared alongside their parents in the groundbreaking reality show The Osbournes – Ozzy was also a dad to two more children, Jessica and Louis, from his marriage to his first wife, Thelma Riley.
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During this relationship, he also adopted Riley’s five-year-old son Elliot.
Over the weekend, the former X Factor judge more than lived up to this reputation with a takedown for the ages aimed at Amanda Holden.
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During their CBB stint last month, both Sharon and Louis Walsh held nothing back when it came to their former X Factor boss Simon Cowell – which Britain’s Got Talent star Amanda took issue with while speaking to the Daily Mail for a new interview.
#CBBUK’s video of Sharon and Louis discussing Simon Cowell has become their most viewed TikTok ever – in just 24 hours – with 3.3 million views and almost a quarter of a million likes! 👀 pic.twitter.com/PhALDta1aM
“I hated seeing certain people in a reality show dissing Simon,” she said, without naming anyone specifically.
“He’s the person who’s given them all the chances, given them a lot of money and a lifestyle they probably wouldn’t have had.”
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Amanda added: “It’s bitter and pathetic. It was like Cinderella with her two sisters in the background – just stabby, stabby, stabby.”
Amanda arriving at this year’s BGT auditions in January
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The following morning, Sharon shared a lengthy statement on social media, directly responding to Amanda’s claims.
Sharon began: “The truth is, you don’t know me, Amanda or any of my close friends. You know nothing about my history in the music industry, my achievements, the artists I have worked with, the shows that l’ve produced, and my global celebrity.
“Unlike you, the brand of Sharon Osbourne is known worldwide. There are many countries that I could work in if I choose to, however, I don’t have the ambition or time to do so, and unlike you, I don’t work in radio or pantomime.
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“Our worlds are totally different. I have been blessed with an amazing lifestyle throughout my entire life. Before you were born, I was living in a mansion in Beverly Hills and continue to do so today and continue to have my country estate in England as well. But there is something you should know. I never discuss money, lifestyle, or positions of power. I find it to be classless and crude.
“However, you’ve now forced my hand to divulge these things to you and I honestly don’t want to seem like I’m bragging, but the truth is my money and success were not due to doing a couple of Simon Cowell talent shows.”
I am responding to your interview with the @DailyMailUK News of 12 April. I respect the fact that you feel the need to defend your good friend and employer, Simon Cowell, who is also your husband’s employer, or so I’ve read. However, a couple of your statements…
“Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed doing them at the time as they were great fun,” she continued.
“Yes, Simon paid me very well. Probably more than what you’re receiving today, but all of that my darling went on a few handbags.”
Sharon went on to claim that during her initial stint on the X Factor panel, she was “the only judge who had global accomplishments with multiple million-selling artists, Grammy Award winners and arena and stadium headliners”, pointing out she’d also produced the annual Ozzfest music event, won an Emmy for her work on the reality show The Osbournes and penned a best-selling book.
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“Amanda, I think you’re missing the point here,” she added. “No disrespect to Simon Cowell but he NEEDED ME for musical credibility on X Factor and I delivered for him and together all of us made a great team.
“It was only after several seasons of X Factor that Simon started to build his music empire and I give him much kudos for what he built. But in case you are living under a rock, my husband is a music icon who has sold 170 million albums, won five Grammy Awards, and is a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee.
“We have been married 42 years and we had a fantastic lifestyle before I ever heard of Simon Cowell.
“On closing, I hope I’ve given you a proper education about me so that the next time you choose to mention me, you’ll have some facts in your pocket.”
Referencing the BGT star’s Cinderella dig, Sharon concluded: “The bottom line, Amanda, is, that you’ll never be in my league, and you’ve picked on the wrong ugly stepsister.”
Sharon last appeared with Simon Cowell on The X Factor in 2017
Dymond/Thames/Syco/Shutterstock
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Amanda’s rep later told The Mirror: “Amanda is aware of Sharon’s incredible career but, just like her, Amanda will always defend those close to her.”
Her spokesperson had no further comment when contacted by HuffPost UK.
While Sharon’s CBB stint was a short one, she still managed to make headlines on a number of occasions, largely down to her no-holds-barred approach to fellow celebrities.
Sharon Osbourne has said that her husband Ozzy is “doing well and on the road to recovery” after the rocker underwent surgery recently.
The former X Factor judge provided an update on her Instagram story as she thanked fans for their “love and support” in the lead-up to the procedure.
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She previously revealed that she was travelling to Los Angeles to support the Black Sabbath star, who has Parkinson’s disease.
Writing on Instagram, Sharon wrote: “Our family would like to express so much gratitude for the overwhelming amount of love and support leading up to Ozzy’s surgery!
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“Ozzy is doing well and on the road to recovery! Your love means the world to him.”
Sharon thanked Ozzy’s well-wishers in an Instagram story post
Instagram/Sharon Osbourne
Ozzy has a rare form of the disease called Parkin 2, which he has had since birth.
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In an interview with Classic Rock magazine in May, Ozzy said he was waiting on more surgery for his neck after a quad bike accident in 2003 left him with lasting damage.
He added: “I can’t walk properly these days. I have physical therapy every morning. I am somewhat better, but nowhere near as much as I want to be to go back on the road.”
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The singer previously cancelled his North American tour in 2020 to undergo medical treatment.
In April, Sharon revealed that Ozzy had contracted Covid, noting that she was “very worried” for him given his health conditions.
The Talk has been off air while CBS investigated the incident and has now announced Sharon has left the programme.
It said her behaviour during the 10 March episode “did not align with our values for a respectful workplace”.
CBS Photo Archive via Getty ImagesSharon Osbourne on The Talk.
In a statement obtained by the PA news agency, it said: “Sharon Osbourne has decided to leave The Talk.
“The events of the March 10 broadcast were upsetting to everyone involved, including the audience watching at home.
“As part of our review, we concluded that Sharon’s behaviour toward her co-hosts during the March 10 episode did not align with our values for a respectful workplace.”
Responding to Sharon’s claims she had been set up by producers, CBS said: “We also did not find any evidence that CBS executives orchestrated the discussion or blindsided any of the hosts.”
However, CBS said it acknowledges the network, studio teams and producers are “accountable for what happened during that broadcast” because “it was clear the co-hosts were not properly prepared by the staff for a complex and sensitive discussion involving race”.
CBS Photo Archive via Getty ImagesL-R: Elaine Welteroth, Carrie Ann Inaba, Sharon Osbourne, Sheryl Underwood and Amanda Kloots, hosts of the CBS series THE TALK
CBS said during The Talk’s hiatus it will coordinate “workshops, listening sessions and training about equity, inclusion and cultural awareness for the hosts, producers and crew”.
It added: “Going forward, we are identifying plans to enhance the producing staff and producing procedures to better serve the hosts, the production and, ultimately, our viewers.”
The Talk is set to return to US screens on Monday 12 April.
The former X Factor judge has been contacted for comment.
He was criticised for saying he does not believe the duchess after she revealed she had suffered with her mental health and had suicidal thoughts.
CBS Photo Archive via Getty ImagesSheryl Underwood, host of the CBS series THE TALK
During a heated discussion, Sharon said: “I feel even like I’m about to be put in the electric chair because I have a friend who many people think is a racist so that makes me a racist.”
Sharon confronted co-host Sheryl, who is Black, and told her “don’t try and cry, because if anyone should be crying, it should be me”.
She added: “You tell me where you have heard him say, educate me, tell me when you have heard him say racist things.
“Educate me. Tell me.”
Sheryl said it was “not the exact words of racism” but “the implication and the reaction to it, to not want to address that because she is a Black woman and to try to dismiss it or to make it seem less than what it is, that’s what makes it racist”.
She gave an interview to Entertainment Tonight and alleged she had not been sufficiently prepared for the conversation by producers.
Sharon said her co-hosts “had preparation, they had written questions for them” but she was only approached eight minutes before filming began and was asked if she was OK with discussing Piers.
She told ET she felt she had been “set up,” adding: “My anger was like, I cannot believe this, I’m your sacrificial lamb.”
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