In this Sunday's edition of The Observer magazine, Ozzy Osbourne spoke at length on a number of subjects, including his recent health struggles: a Parkinson's disease diagnosis as well as recent surgery. The 73-year-old singer also touched on his recent performance at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games recently with Black Sabbath band mate Tony Iommi.
But one quote from the chat in particular is raising eyebrows, as Ozz more or less surmised that America—and Southern California, in particular—is pretty fuckin' mid these days. Yes, after decades in Los Angeles—the city that made the Osbourne family a household name—the first family of metal are returning to England. Their sprawling Los Angeles mansion is up for sale, and the family expects to be back in England permanently by the end of February.
“Everything’s fucking ridiculous there. I’m fed up with people getting killed every day," Osbourne stated. "God knows how many people have been shot in school shootings. And there was that mass shooting in Vegas at that concert… It’s fucking crazy.
"And I don't want to die in America. I don't want to be buried in fucking Forest Lawn," Ozzy said, referring to the famous graveyard of stars in Hollywood. "I'm English. I want to be back. But saying that, if my wife said we've got to go and live in Timbuktu, I'll go. But, no, it's just time for me to come home."
Osbourne's latest album Patient Number 9 includes multiple guests, including a slew of British guitar royalty: Iommi, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton, who raised eyebrows with his own vaccine skepticism during covid lockdowns in Britain at the height of the pandemic. When asked about Osbourne's oldest daughter, Aimee, who is also reportedly an anti-vaxxer, Ozzy shrugged it of, saying "Go live in L.A. for a few years," as if to say, "Hey man. Have you been to Southern California? The people there have gone batshit!"
The strange thing though, is Ozzy doesn't normally make "as if to say" comments—he just says what he wants to. Remember, this is the same Ozzy who opened up a few weeks back about the time he thought the same Eric Clapton was stalking him. In reading these comments, he seems very frustrated—like many Americans.
Either way, they wouldn't be the first Brits to get tired of the Yanks. Cheer up, Ozzy.
