Sharon Osbourne Pushes Back on “False Press” Surrounding Ozzy Osbourne’s Final Concert: “Where Does This Stuff Come From?”

Wanting to give a proper goodbye to the fans who supported him over the decades, Ozzy Osbourne took the stage one last time on July 5th. Promoting the Back to the Beginning concert, fans completely took over Birmingham, England, to honor the Prince of Darkness. Offering performances from Black Sabbath, Metallica, Pantera, and several others, reports indicated that Ozzy’s final performance raised $190 million for charity. While a staggering number, Sharon Osbourne recently pushed back on the number, calling it “ridiculous.” 

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At the time of the concert, the organizer noted how the proceeds from the event would go to Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorns Children’s Hospice. With the money going to such a good cause, outlets like Billboard and Rolling Stone reported the concert raised around $200 million. 

Sitting down for an interview with Pollstar, Sharon deemed the inflated numbers false. “One of the things that’s frightening me is all this false press about [how], we’ve made $140 million and all of this, and I’m like, ‘God, I wish we could have, for one gig.’ It’s just ridiculous, the different stories. I went on the internet the next morning and it was like, $140 million, $160 million. And I’m like, ‘Where does this stuff come from?’”

[RELATED: Ozzy Osbourne’s Death Certificate Sheds Light on Final Moments]

Sharon Osbourne Considered Ozzy’s Final Concert A “Huge Success”

Explaining how the organizers were still selling merchandise from the event, Sharon explained, “It takes a really long time, because we’ve had all of the bands that we had come in and their expenses, and it’ll take a good six weeks to get the final number. Because we’re selling merch for another two weeks from the gig. So, we’ve got another two weeks of sales yet to add to it.”

With Sharon suggesting it would take another “four weeks” for the final numbers to be added, she insisted no matter what, “It was a huge success.” 

Sadly, Ozzy passed away just a few weeks after his final performance. Able to thank fans one last time, Sharon promised the entire experience was perfect. “I never wanted Ozzy to just disappear without some big event. And it’s the best way then to go home to where it all started, to go to his favorite stadium in the world.”

(Mitch Haaseth/ABC via Getty Images)