Recently, drama between Ozzy Osbourne and his longtime friend and former Black Sabbath bandmate Geezer Butler has surfaced. The friction began after Osbourne went on an angry tirade about Butler’s failure to reach out to him while dealing with his current health issues. More recently, Butler responded, saying that his former bandmate wasn’t telling the whole truth.
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It started when Osbourne made comments about Butler in a recent Rolling Stone UK feature. During the interview, Osbourne told the publication that Butler never reached out to him to see how he was feeling.
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“You do find out who’s a genuine friend when you’ve been through what I’ve had,” Osbourne said. “Tony Iommi has been so supportive of me since my illness. Geezer Butler hasn’t given me one fucking phone call. Not one fucking call,” he added.
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Butler and Osbourne have been friends since childhood. They formed Black Sabbath with Iommi and drummer Bill Ward in 1968. Then, two years later, they released their iconic debut self-titled album. In 1979, Black Sabbath booted Osbourne from the band. They cited his excessive drug and alcohol use.
That put a strain on their friendship. However, some say that animosity between Butler and Osbourne’s wives nearly ended the friendship. That didn’t keep Osbourne from reaching out when Butler had a child.
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“When his son was fucking born, I phoned him every fucking night even though we were at war with each other,” Osbourne recalled. “I thought, ‘Fuck it, he’s my mate. I’m gonna call him.”
He continued, “But from him, not one fucking call. It’s sad, man. We all grew up together and he can’t pick up the fucking phone like a man and see how I’m doing.”
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Osbourne went on to say that Ward reached out to him. By his own admission, Osbourne said some unkind things about the Black Sabbath drummer in the past. However, Ward didn’t let that stop him from checking on his old friend and former bandmate.
“I’m not in shock, I’m just very fucking sad that he can’t just call me after all this time and say, ‘How you doing?’ Fucking arsehole.”
Yesterday, Butler took to social media to clear the air. “Rumor has it: Ozzy is upset, saying he never received my get-well messages. I made two different attempts at getting in touch during his illnesses,” the Black Sabbath bassist wrote. “My first email (February 8, 2019) went through his office because I didn’t have Ozzy’s new phone number to text him. Sharon responded but I didn’t hear back from Ozzy,” he continued.
Then, Butler added, “11 months later (January 21, 2020), I emailed Sharon to check on Oz. That email went unanswered. I don’t want to engage in a tit-for-tat. Having made two attempts to wish Ozzy well, without a reply, I figured it best to privately keep him in my thoughts.”
(Featured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
