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Sharon Osbourne hits back at Ozzy avatar "cash grab” accusations: “I don’t need your f***ing money"
9 June 2026, 11:57 | Updated: 9 June 2026, 12:11
The widow of the late Black Sabbath legend has hit back at criticism surrounding using AI to keep his image alive.
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Sharon Osbourne has responded to criticism that creating an AI avatar of her late husband Ozzy is a "cash grab".
The Black Sabbath legend passed away on 22nd July 2025, aged 76 just weeks after his farewell homecoming show in Birmingham at the home of Aston Villa F.C., Villa Park.
Since his passing, his wife and manager Sharon has revealed plans to keeps his memory alive with an AI Avatar style project, but the news has been met with a mixed response from fans.
Now speaking on the latest episode of The Osbournes Podcast, the matriarch has slammed the haters and insisted it's simply about moving along with technological advancements.
“The thing is, it’s like when there were propellers and then there were jet planes," she said to her son Jack. "[People would question] ‘Why go on a jet when there’s a propeller? It’s a cash grab’.”
“Well, you know what, technology moves on. [...] And I’m sorry for those people. I’m not asking you to come. I don’t want your f***ing money. I don’t need your f***ing money. I’m doing very well.”
Sharon also revealed that it's what the Prince of Darkness would have wanted as towards the end of his life he consistently asked her how long he would be remembered.
She added: “For somebody to turn around to me and say I’m doing a cash grab? No, you don’t know my husband, OK? I know my husband.
“My husband would say to me over and over, ‘After I go, how long do you think I’ll be remembered?’”
Watch the pair tackle the subject below:
The Osbournes React to the Ozzy AI Controversy
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Sharon's comments come after Jack also responded to the backlash over plans for a "digital Ozzy," where he assured fans it will be "complex" and "tasteful".
“It’s really complex what we’re doing," said the podcaster and TV personality in a YouTube livestream. "This isn’t just like hooking up an image of my dad to ChatGPT. This is some high-level technology that we’re gonna be working with, and it’s gonna feel very real, and it’s kind of wild how it will be utilised.”
The 40-year-old also added that the idea of the an avatar was something he discussed with his late father and he would have approved.
"It’s really cool, and it’s something that I think my dad would be into," the former I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! contestant added. “We actually talked about it before he passed, about doing something like this. So, yeah. I know he would be into this.”
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Meanwhile, Jack has also confirmed that the Ozzy Osbourne documentary "will absolutely happen" but probably wouldn't be released for another two years.
"I can tell you this," he teased to his fans on a livestream. "We are moving ahead. I was on calls today about it. The script is right there. We are good. This movie will absolutely happen."
He added: "Realistically — I mean, look, we're already halfway through '26 — probably won't come out until '28, but you never know. But, we're full steam ahead. We're about to start going out and getting a director attached. So, fingers crossed. I'm really excited. It's very much been a labor of love, of course. But, yeah, I'm excited — I'm excited for everyone to see this film."
Watch his comments on the biopic below from 34:31 minutes in:
Lets talk Streaming, Ozzfest, and Upcoming week
Earlier this year, Jack teased that a "phenomenal actor" has been selected to play his father too.
"We are in full steam in the next phase of development with this movie," he told Billy Morrison's SiriusXM show.
"That’s an acted movie that we’ve been developing with Sony studios for, like, six years already.”
He added: "We have our decided pick, and I can’t say anything [yet], but it’s a phenomenal, phenomenal actor.”
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