Ozzy Osbourne - we shouldn't speak ill of the dead but has his domestic abuse and serial infidelity been glossed over in all the eulogies?

[mids2019]

Maybe because he was a rocker firm the 70s but it seems Ozzy's real character flaws have been warped into a 'charismatic hell raiser ' image to be admired.

In reality should we also be critical about his actions and views?

Can’t even name one of their songs and he always seemed to be an enormous prick when I saw him on the tv.
but people are weeping and wailing so he must have had some good points??

Black Sabbath basically kick started an entire genre of music that, for many people forms an integral part of their lives.

I honestly can’t stand him or his family. I’m sick of the coverage now.

Exactly @SamiSnail

😂

The Beatles of heavy metal.

Ozzy is an icon. Like Keith Richards he was a walking, talking miracle as he could have been dead multiple times over given his lifestyle.

Always loved him.

Ozzy: "I'm like the Dennis the Menace kind of crazy. Fun crazy, I hope'.

He adopted his wife's son, and then subsequently abandoned him. Yes, abandoned.

and so did John Lennon when he went off with yoko Ono. & abandoned his first wife Cynthia & their son. Left them penniless with no support & cut his first son out of his will. Paul McCartney actually did more for them. Yet John Lennon is seen as an idol.

John Lennon was an arrogant wife beating narcissistic piece of shit.

There’s been a lot of rehabbing of Ozzy’s image since the reality TV show.

He was abusive to his first wife and a shit dad to the kids he had with her. He was abusive to Sharon to the point of attempted murder, a serial cheat and animal killer.

There have been many rock stars with drug and booze issues and few of them come close to his behaviour so it’s really lazy to put it all down to that lifestyle.

Sharon was a hard-faced business woman who hated herself thanks to her abusive father so ending her marriage to Ozzy, no matter the humiliations, was never an option. Through Ozzy she had access to fame and wealth and a family life, however dysfunctional. That was his ticket to forgiveness.

Were it not for Sharon he would have died long ago. Disability and sobriety may have mellowed him but it doesn’t excuse who he was for the majority of his life.

People talking about them as some end goal fairytale love have a very skewed idea of relationships. Did he love her? I’m sure he did. But he didn’t respect her enough not to privately and not so privately humiliate her for decades.

Death does not alter the reality of who people were in life. I think denying who people were is a disservice to people who do try to be good decent humans every day.

I think it says a lot for the time of celebrity culture that people no longer seem to be drawing a distinction between the art and artist.

it’s interesting the comments between here and in the HM forums. There it’s all about how the music of Ozzy and Black sabbath. Influenced people and how they were the pioneers of metal. I haven’t seen anyone there discussing his personal life really, apart from condolences to the family it’s all been about the importance of the music.

Yet here that’s totally juxtaposed between the non- mention of the music and all about the person, a person no one here knows.

I'm glad Im part of the heavy metal community.. I feel the priorities are better there. The celebrity culture is non- existent. The music is important there, I’m not sure anyone is interested in aggressively pulling apart a person who has been dead a little over 24 hours, I personally that most of the people doing that had probably not thought about much before. It’s sad, it’s pathetic

It's not sad or pathetic, it's challenging the culture of excusing abusive mysogynists.

Its empowering women to recognise and call out abuse.

I ever found him lovable. Nor Sharon. I'm more concerned that so many people did than I am by the convention that we shouldn't speak ill of the dead.

As people have said about so many of those old abusers, hoping to excuse them: "Things were different in those days".

And they're partly right - in those days it was easier for men to get away with abuse, without having to face "criticism", let alone jail sentences.

I would have hoped our standards have improved somewhat by now, and we can call an abusive shit an abusive shit, without having to apologise to those who don't like women being "judgemental".

@MyHeartyCoralSnail well I find the excusing of domestic violence and animal cruelty in the name of art sad and pathetic.

And lest you forget, it was Ozzy who kickstarted the trend of celebs and reality tv - The Osbournes was nothing to do with metal or culture or art and everything to do with chasing money and fame solely for their own ends and nothing else.

Makes any argument about how vacuous all you metal purists find celeb culture when your idol was one of the fore runners ring very hollow.

Ha, you can tell you know nothing about metal -I suggest you look peoples reaction to the osbournes. I would particularly point you in the direction of of “egg fest” aka Bruce Dickinsons rant against reality TV and Sharon osbournes reaction.

No one is commenting here on Sharon - if you’re looking for the instigator of Ozzys involvement in vacuous enterprises you should look on that direction ?

oh and I’m not excusing animal cruelty or domestic violence.

i love Black Sabbath and Ozzy for their music snd the musical genre the spawned. Who said Ozzy was my idol?

Its clear you don’t like metal, that’s fine most don’t but in that case, stay away,

Well then rather than telling people to leave MN threads, you should consider staying on your HM thread and just talking about the music?

Let people have their views here, which of course are totally valid.

The views here are factual, he was an animal abuser, he abused his wife and children.

People will judge that and not turn a blind eye.

Clearly this triggers you.

I cannot get past the animal cruelty, domestic abuse and serial infidelity.

In Birmingham he is being hailed as a a legend with the library fronting his image.

I was just surprised at the ability of an abusive man effectively whitewashing his image to become a city's talisman. Surely when schools discuss toxic masculinity you can't simultaneously defend one example by the 'rock god' excuse.

I

It makes sense that Sharon was raised in an abusive household and so was Ozzy.
This is how the cycle continues. Abusive parents breeding children who in turn become abusive.
I wasn’t aware that Ozzy had been married before until I read online that he was a wife beater.
I’m frankly sick and tired of people hero worshipping such men.
Yes he was a good front man, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that he was a terrible human being.

Don't we all do this to an extent when people die. Iv never been to a funeral where a family member, friend or colleague has stood up and said well he was a right knob.

No not triggered at all, I’m finding it interesting how invested people are in the death of a heavy metal singer when they hace no interest in heavy metal. How quick people are to latch on to a 40 year old issue, how people can’t see someone changed..How angry people get over the actions of a celebrity decades ago.

I find it interesting that people can’t draw distinctions between the art and artist. The fact this has happened to someone whose wife very much bought into the celebrity culture shines a light on the effects that culture has on people.

There’s a really interesting interview with Aldous Huxley in 1958, actually about politicians saying that the way TV was, then, being increasing used especially with adverts it wouldn’t be long before politicians were elected on their personality rather than politics. The same thing has happened in the music industry, now pop bands get famous for being pretty, for having a quirk.people are more interested in what they’re wearing, who they’re dating rather than the quality of their music.

The other day dozens of fans bordered a train to a gig someone posted a distant photo several rows of seats down of the singer of the band taking the sane train - apart from that -no one bothered him at all.

That same singer Sharon once jibbed, no one would recognise him in the supermarket. I suspect that singer -probably one of the best singers and performers who ever lived is rather pleased about that.

So I’ll stay I’m finding you and your buddies really interesting. How you’re drawn in to spending so much time discussing someone who has zero impact on your life. Fascinating!

I quite like the fact some people are still able to separate the art snd artist and/or can see and appreciate how people can change.

I don’t usually pay much attention to peoples interaction with celebrity culture, I’m finding this rather fascinating

@MyHeartyCoralSnail do you accept he was a wife beater and killed pets? Why do artists (music or otherwise) seem to be able to be excused of this, whereas boring Bob down the road wouldn’t

You’re obsessed with him being a good guy (because he happened to be musical), how you are calling others invested when you’ve been posting prolifically for days about someone who is an animal and domestic abuser is quite odd.

As myself and many others have said…. way OTT.

And as for saying he had zero impact on me, anyone who is an abuser like him has impact on society. Should not be seen as a decent human and should not be honoured for “doing stuff for charity”. Why has he had such a huge impact on you that your are blinded to his awful behaviour? Able to just wipe it out as he was high on drugs, did a lot for charity? I cannot understand your ability to separate the “two” people, you’re blinded, they are just one person….

As I asked on the other thread you are all over, Jimmy Saville did a lot for charity, should he be held in high esteem?

I actually find it extremely odd, that you honour a man for his music, but totally don’t feel let down and disgusted with the vile actions and cruelness he carried out on many occasions.

I’n finding you fascinating, although you don’t seem to have many buddies backing you up.

Well said.