Roger Waters recently found himself defending controversial comments he made about the late Ozzy Osbourne. He addressed the issue in an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored.
The Pink Floyd co-founder was confronted about remarks he made to The Independent following Osbourne’s death. In those comments, he criticized the Black Sabbath frontman’s career and persona. When asked directly about his empathy regarding these comments, Waters provided a lengthy response.
“So those comments, I’m not denying that I said them, came in the middle of a long interview, called the Independent, Inc. In the middle of an hour and a half long interview,” Waters said. “Well, I mean, do I have to like every rock group there ever was in the world? I obviously I had no idea that Sharon Osbourne would be watching a podcast by a very well-known cartoonist.”
When pressed about apologizing for any hurt caused, Waters offered a conditional response.
“Yeah, of course I will. If I cause, not that I have any time for Sharon Osbourne. She’s a raging Zionist and she’s all accused me of all kinds of things,” he responded.
However, when specifically asked to apologize to the Osbourne family for his comments about Ozzy, Waters was more reluctant.
“Not really. Well, Jack, you know, Jack Osbourne, if he wants to have a chat, I’ll have a chat. Happily, and I won’t be nasty to him. I’m sorry you lost your dad, Jack, but this is like you have conversations about things and about people in ‘What do you think?’ Well, not a lot. I was honest. I said I didn’t like Black Sabbath, but that’s not I think I’ve listened to some of it since,” Waters continued. “And the music is perfectly kind of, it was all the kind of histrionics of I don’t like people who bite the heads off bats. I just don’t. I think it’s disgusting.”
The interview highlighted the ongoing tension between Waters and the Osbourne family following his controversial remarks about the heavy metal legend.
The tension between Waters and the Osbourne family extends beyond musical differences. Waters’ reference to Sharon Osbourne as a “raging Zionist” stems from their previous public disputes over his political activism and support for Palestinian causes. These disagreements have played out across social media platforms and interviews over the years.
Ozzy Osbourne’s legendary career with Black Sabbath helped define heavy metal music in the 1970s. His solo work and reality TV appearances made him a household name. His battle with Parkinson’s disease, which he publicly disclosed in 2020, marked the final chapter of a career spanning over five decades.
The bat-biting incident Waters referenced remains one of rock’s most infamous moments. The event occurred during Osbourne’s 1982 tour when a fan threw a dead bat onto the stage. Osbourne, thinking it was fake, bit its head off before realizing it was real. The incident required him to receive rabies shots and became part of his wild-man persona.
Waters’ reluctance to offer a full apology highlights his reputation for standing by controversial statements. Throughout his career, the Pink Floyd bassist has never shied away from expressing unpopular opinions, whether about fellow musicians or political issues. He often draws both criticism and support from fans and peers alike.
