Roger Waters said he has no regrets about his inflammatory Ozzy Osbourne remarks, which caused an uproar in the rock and metal community following the Prince of Darkness’ death.
The Pink Floyd cofounder defended his previous comments about Osbourne bringing “hundreds of years” of “idiocy and nonsense” into the world, as well as his disparaging remarks about Osbourne and Black Sabbath’s music, in a recent episode of Piers Morgan Uncensored, which you can watch below.
“Those comments — I’m not denying that I said them — came in the middle of a long interview,” Waters said. “Do I have to like every rock group there ever was in the world or people who bite the heads off bats?”
Watch Piers Morgan’s Interview With Roger Waters
Roger Waters Says He Has No Time for ‘Raging Zionist’ Sharon Osbourne
When Morgan asked Waters if he would like to apologize for the hurt that his comments caused the Osbourne family, Waters replied: “Yeah, of course I will. Not that I have any time for Sharon Osbourne, she’s a raging Zionist … and she’s accused me of all kinds of things. She’s constantly accused [me] because she’s part of the Israeli lobby.” (Waters also mistakenly referred to the Osbourne matriarch as “Karen” instead of “Sharon” before Morgan corrected him.)
READ MORE: Ozzy Osbourne Albums Ranked Worst to Best
Moments later, though, when asked if he wanted to apologize to the entire Osbourne family, Waters said: “Not really to Jack. Jack Osbourne, if he wants to have a chat, I’ll have a chat with him. And I won’t be nasty to him.”
Waters continued: “I’m sorry you lost your dad, Jack. But you have conversations about things and about people and what you think. I was honest, I said I didn’t like Black Sabbath. I’ve listened to some of it since, and the music is perfectly kind of acceptable. It was all a kind of histrionics. I don’t like people who bite the heads off bats. I just don’t. I think it’s disgusting.
“I know he’s dead and he can’t come back and go, ‘Yeah, I’m sorry I bit the heads off bats.’ If he ever did. Who knows whether he did or not?”
READ MORE: How Ozzy Osbourne’s Bat-Biting Debacle Became a Rock Legend
When Morgan asked one final time whether Waters regretted his controversial remarks, Waters said: “I regret nothing in life, except that I haven’t been more successful in getting people to understand how important it is that we as a human race recognize and empathize with all our brothers and sisters all over the world and make certain that they have equal human rights, one with another, under international law.”
He concluded: “The Osbourne family, no, I’m not that interested.”
What Exactly Did Roger Waters Say About Ozzy Osbourne?
The war of words between Waters and the Osbourne family began in September — roughly six weeks after Osbourne’s death — when Waters insulted the late metal icon during an interview with the Independent Ink podcast.
“Ozzy Osbourne, who just died, bless him, in his, whatever that state that he was in his whole life, we’ll never know,” Waters said. “Although he was all over the TV for hundreds of years with his idiocy and nonsense.”
Waters also had harsh words for Osbourne’s music. “The music, I have no idea, I couldn’t give a f–k,” he said. “I don’t care about Black Sabbath, I never did. I have no interest in … ‘Wahhhh!‘ and biting the heads off chickens or whatever they do. I couldn’t care less.”
When corrected that Osbourne actually bit the head off a bat, not a chicken, Waters replied: “Oh my God, that’s even worse, isn’t it? I don’t know, is it worse to bite the head off a bat or a chicken?”
READ MORE: Black Sabbath Albums Ranked Worst to Best
How Did the Osbourne Family Respond to Roger Waters’ Comments?
Waters’ remarks drew fiery condemnation from various members of the Osbourne family.
“Hey Roger Waters — f–k you,” Ozzy’s son, Jack Osbourne, wrote on Instagram. “How pathetic and out of touch you’ve become. The only way you seem to get attention these days is by vomiting out bullshit in the press. My father always thought you were a c–t — thanks for proving him right.”
On a November episode of The Osbournes podcast, Sharon Osbourne called Waters a “sad, irrelevant, old, miserable, ugly human being.” The Osbournes also released a limited edition shirt with the text “OZZY RULES” spray painted over Waters’ name and the words “Another Prick in the Wall” printed on the back (a reference to Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall”).
Ozzy Osbourne Year by Year Photos: 1969-2025
Between Black Sabbath and his solo career, Ozzy Osbourne became one of the most famous frontmen in hard rock history. Here’s a look back.
Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso
