Sharon Osbourne hasn’t held back on her thoughts towards Iron Maiden rocker Bruce Dickinson after she blasted the singer as a “fucking asshole” in a new interview.
The wife of Black Sabbath legend Ozzy Osbourne let loose in a recent chat with Consequence for their cover story, Sharon launched into a tirade against Dickinson following an altercation back in 2005 which saw Iron Maiden’s power cut off during their performance at Ozzfest 2005, after which they were egged by the audience.
It was later revealed that Sharon had been behind the stunt after Dickinson reportedly “disrespected” Ozzy throughout the tour.
Now, it seems that Sharon still is holding a major grudge against the frontman after she blasted him as being “jealous” of her husband.
“Bruce Dickinson is a fucking prick. Well, no, he’s not a prick because a prick’s nice. He’s a fucking asshole. Because the situation is he was on a tour called Ozzfest.
“And Ozzy Osbourne was paying him every night to perform. He accepted the gig. He knew what he was doing. He accepted the gig. And every night he would go onstage and say bad things about Ozzy. And the crew and everybody in all the other bands would be like, ‘Are you letting him get away with it?’ And I’m like, ‘I sure am.’
“But the last gig was [just outside of] L.A. And I thought, ‘You motherfucker, now you’re gonna get it,'” Sharon said, adding, “And so I had about 20 people in the audience and a lot of them were nurses from Cedars Sinai, because I had cancer at that time. And they were all my chemo nurses. And they all came down, and they fucking pelted the shit out of him. And my thing is, you play, you pay!”
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She continued, “And the thing is, if you’re being paid to do a gig, but you don’t like the person, then fuck off. But don’t stay, take the money, take all the good that’s coming to your band through being on a festival, doing 24 shows and still slagging the person that’s paying you. It’s like, ‘No, that makes you a fucking asshole.’
“And he is. And he’s never apologised, he never even went up and said hello to Ozzy. The thing about him is that he is just so jealous. And always has been of Ozzy. And that’s his problem.
“Because the thing is about Bruce Dickinson, he’s hugely successful. He’s got a great fan base, a great fan base that have been loyal. The band are great guys. All the band are great. And they do great. You know, they’re a great band, you can’t take it away, and neither would I take that away from them. But the thing about Bruce is, he is unknown to the public. Bruce Dickinson could walk into anywhere and nobody would know who the fuck he is. Do you know what I’m saying?”
“He’s a faceless singer to the general public. People aren’t scrambling to get him for an interview. And the thing is, he’s not interesting. But the thing is, Ozzy is original and Bruce isn’t and that’s what eats Bruce away,” she scathingly added.
Meanwhile, Ozzy has previously also expressed his grievances toward Dickinson, though in a far more subdued manner compared to his wife.
“Bruce Dickinson is a great singer, but as a person, I’ve worked with him, and he’s not very nice,” Ozzy said.
“Ronnie James Dio is no longer alive. He was a great singer.
“I didn’t really know him so well. I’m not one of these guys who says many things about people. The truth is the truth. I met Ronnie James Dio a couple of times. He took my [Black Sabbath] gig. But at the same time, I can’t complain because I did great on my own.”
Ozzy continued, “But I don’t sing for a judge. I sing for my fans. If my fans don’t buy my music, that would tell me my singing isn’t any good anymore, but they’re still buying my records.
“I’m my own worst critic. I don’t rate myself more than Ronnie James Dio or Bruce Dickinson. That’s not my gig. I don’t care. I have fun doing what I do. My goal is to turn my fucking audience on. And that’s what I try to do. I’m not interested if someone thinks I’m a fucking joke. That’s fine. That’s their opinion.”
For more on this topic, head over to the Classic Rock Observer.
