After living in Los Angeles for decades, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne are moving back to England. While much has been made about the couple’s exodus from the States, the Prince of Darkness would prefer to “stay in America.”
Ozzy is the subject of Consequence’s latest cover story. The metal legend discusses a wide range of topics, including his new album, Patient Number 9, and his recent health battles.
The Osbournes’ move back to the UK will be the subject of a new BBC reality series titled Home to Roost, premiering next year. But, as Ozzy tells us, he never wanted to leave the States.
“I’m getting a bit of flak from people,” Ozzy tells Consequence of the move. “To be honest with you, if I had my way, I’d stay in America. I’m American now.”
The iconic singer blames Sharon’s ousting from the daytime TV show The Talk as the straw that broke the camel’s back, suggesting the couple no longer feels safe in America.
“When my wife got called a racist on [The Talk], she is absolutely not a racist,” Ozzy declares. “Her friend is Piers Morgan [who made disparaging comments about Meghan Markle]. She didn’t say, ‘I agree with him.’ She just respected his ability to have freedom of speech. That’s all that she said. And she got a lot of flak from that, so we actually had to have fucking armed guards and all that.”
Sharon, meanwhile, points to the safety of Los Angeles, in general, telling Consequence, “When I first came here, I thought I was in heaven. In the ’70s, if you loved music, this was the place to be. It’s not that hub anymore. It’s not exciting anymore. It hasn’t gone sideways, it’s gone down. It’s not a fun place to live. It’s dangerous here. Every big city’s got crime, but I don’t feel safe here. Neither does Ozzy.”
Still, Ozzy seems pretty adamant that his personal preference is to stay put in L.A.: “To be honest with you, I don’t want to go back [to England]. Fuck that.”
With the new reality series, Ozzy will once again have cameras following him around all day, as he did when The Osbournes aired on MTV from 2002 to 2005. That show arguably presented the singer as a lovable buffoon, something that’s not lost on the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer.
As Ozzy recalls, “My son says to me one day — this is when he was a lot younger — ‘Dad, can I ask you a question?’ I said, ‘Yeah, what is it?’ He says, ‘With this TV show we’re doing, do you love people laughing with you or at you?’ And I say, ‘You know what, as long as they’re fucking laughing, I don’t give a shit.’ People said to me, ‘You come off as being a jerk’ but it’s entertainment. We’re in the game of making people laugh or happy. It’s the entertainment game. But it was a hit.”
