Ozzy’s larger-than-life escapades have solidified his wild reputation (Image: Getty)
Some rockstars etch their names into history with groundbreaking music, while others do so with outrageous behaviour that leaves fans and critics stunned.
, the self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness, has managed to do both.
As a pioneering figure in heavy metal and a magnet for controversy, Ozzy’s larger-than-life escapades have solidified his reputation as one of the most unpredictable and wildest figures in rock history.
From public mishaps like urinating on the Alamo to shocking the world by biting the head off a live bat, his antics blur the line between rebellion and recklessness.
Add to that a bizarre confession of shooting cats, and it’s clear Ozzy’s life has been anything but ordinary.
As he marks his 76th birthday, we revisit the jaw-dropping moments that have defined the chaotic and captivating career of a true rock legend.
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Ozzy Osbourne and his Black Sabbath bandmates (Image: Getty)
Rock ‘n’ roll hotel carnage
While staying at The Four Seasons with guitarist Zakk Wylde, a bored Ozzy Osbourne decided to pull off what might be the most quintessential rock ‘n’ roll move in history.
Without a second thought, he ripped open the window, picked up the room’s television, and hurled it out into the street.
When it smashed to the ground, Ozzy described the impact as being like an explosion, saying: “It went like a bomb.” However, what Ozzy and Zakk didn’t realize at the time was just how close they came to disaster.
Outside the hotel, a man stood smoking a cigarette, narrowly avoiding being struck by the falling TV—a near-miss that could have turned a wild prank into a tragedy.
The aftermath of Ozzy’s impulsive act came with a steep price. Not only was he charged for the television, but he was also hit with a £40,000 bill for three months’ worth of room damages.
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Ozzy urinated on San Antonio’s sacred Cenotaph (Image: Getty)
Urinating on Alamo
After one too many drinks in Texas, the self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness embarked on one of his infamous drunken strolls—a habit so frequent that resorted to hiding his clothes in a desperate attempt to curb it.
But her plan backfired. Determined to wander, Ozzy slipped into one of Sharon’s dresses and left the house.
Feeling the call of nature, he stumbled upon a statue and relieved himself. What Ozzy failed to realize was the gravity of his location—he was urinating on San Antonio’s sacred Cenotaph, a memorial right next to the Alamo.
The police were quick to respond, arresting the rocker for desecrating the revered site. As a result, Ozzy was banned from performing in San Antonio for a decade.
Years later, he made amends by publicly apologizing and donating $10,000 to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, the organization responsible for preserving the Alamo.
Ozzy and Sharon attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner (Image: Getty)
Party at the White House
At the peak of the Osbournes’ second wave of fame in 2002, Ozzy and Sharon found themselves in an unexpected setting—the prestigious White House Correspondents’ Dinner, invited by Fox News.
True to form, Ozzy made a chaotic impression. After indulging in three bottles of wine beforehand, he became the life of the party, jumping on tables and causing such a stir that President George W. Bush reportedly muttered: “This might have been a mistake.”
The pairing of the Prince of Darkness and the White House was widely described as “unlikely” by media outlets at the time.
However, Bush managed to bring humour to the situation during his speech, joking: “Ozzy, Mom loves your stuff,” revealing that Barbara Bush was apparently a Black Sabbath fan.
Reflecting on the bizarre evening, Ozzy admitted to his pre-dinner nerves but didn’t hold back his colourful opinion of Bush, who he described, plainly, as a “c**t”.
Ozzy revealed he would shoot cats and birds with an air rifle (Image: Getty)
Shooting cats
The dad-of-six sparked controversy after revealing his lockdown pastime involved shooting cats and birds with an air rifle. The Black Sabbath legend admitted to setting up a makeshift firing range outside his Los Angeles home, where his poor aim and tremors from Parkinson’s disease have led to unintended chaos.
Speaking about the activity, Ozzy described it as “good fun,” adding, “It gets me out of my head, man. When I’m in my house, I worry I’m never going to walk properly again.” Despite his initial struggles with accuracy, he quipped: “Now there’s dead cats [and] birds every minute.”
In the same radio interview, Ozzy credited his dogs for helping him stay “sane” during lockdown. However, when asked how they reacted to his shooting sessions, he joked: “They f*** off.” The candid confession has, unsurprisingly, caused a stir among fans and animal rights advocates alike.
Ozzy Osbourne has shared the outrageous story of how he once nearly killed a vicar (Image: Getty)
Drugging a vicar
Ozzy Osbourne has shared the outrageous story of how he once nearly killed a vicar after accidentally giving him a drug-laced cake. As a member of the Church of England, Ozzy often welcomed the vicar into his home for visits. However, one day, his then-wife, Thelma, unknowingly offered the priest a slice of cake that Ozzy had secretly spiked with Afghan hash.
“I put it in a tin and went to the pub and I said to my ex-wife, ‘Don’t let anybody eat this f***ing cake. It’ll be bad,’” Ozzy explained. Unfortunately, his warning went unheeded. “Anyway, I came back from the pub a few days later, and I did a double-take – because the vicar was in our house, having a cup of tea in the kitchen with a piece of this cake.”
The effects soon took hold, and the vicar passed out in the kitchen. “He was slumped in my kitchen – so I had to drag him out by his hair, push him in the back of his car, drive him to his door, and then walk home,” Ozzy recounted.
For two weeks, Ozzy feared the worst, convinced he had accidentally killed the vicar. Thankfully, the clergyman reappeared, alive and well, and completely oblivious to what had happened. Believing he had simply caught a bad flu, he told Ozzy he must have picked up a terrible flu when I visited his house.
The star bit the head off multiple Dove’s (Image: Getty)
Release the doves
With Black Sabbath gearing up to release Heaven and Hell in 1980 with new frontman Ronnie James Dio, Ozzy Osbourne felt the pressure to ensure his own debut solo album, Blizzard of Ozz, didn’t go unnoticed in the U.S. Determined to make a statement, Ozzy orchestrated a publicity stunt at CBS’s sales convention in Los Angeles on March 27—the same day his album launched in America.
The plan was for Ozzy to deliver a speech of thanks and release three doves as a symbolic gesture of peace. However, things took a darker turn.
According to his biographer Mick Wall, Ozzy had been drinking brandy heavily before the event. “I just remember this PR woman going on and on at me,” Ozzy recalled. “I pulled out one of these doves and bit its f***ing head off. Just to shut her up. Then I did it again… that’s when they threw me out. They said I’d never work for CBS again.”
In another account, speaking to Sounds journalist Garry Bushell three months later, Ozzy offered a different version of the incident: “I wanted to make a real impression. The scam is the bird was dead. We were planning to release it there, but it died beforehand. So rather than waste it, I bit its head off. You should have seen their faces. They all went white. They were speechless. That girl in the pictures was screaming. Eventually, a bloke came up and said, ‘You’d better go.’”
When asked what the dead bird tasted like, Ozzy simply quipped: “Tomato sauce.”
The incident sparked shock worldwide (Image: Getty)
Biting a bat’s head off
Not content with the shocking stunt of biting a dove’s head off, Ozzy Osbourne’s most infamous moment came during a performance in Des Moines in 1982. That night, a fan threw something onto the stage.
Assuming it was a toy bat, Ozzy picked it up and took a massive bite – only to immediately realise it wasn’t fake. In his memoirs, he recalled, “I thought it was a rubber bat. I picked it up, put it in my mouth, crunched down, bit into it, being the clown that I am.”
To his horror, he soon discovered it was a real, dead bat, and the aftertaste was as unforgettable as the incident itself. “It gave me the worst aftertaste you could ever imagine,” he said.
As blood filled his mouth and the crowd looked on in shock, Ozzy realized the risk he’d taken. “Bats are the biggest carriers of rabies in the world,” he explained.
To be safe, Ozzy was rushed to the hospital, where he received rabies shots. “I had one on each rear and I had to have that every night,” he recounted.
Years later, in 2019, Ozzy embraced the bizarre legacy of that moment by releasing a plush toy bat with a branded “Ozzy Osbourne” stamp and a detachable head, marking the 37th anniversary of his now-legendary onstage mishap.