Ozzy Osbourne

==Controversies==
[[File:OzzyOsbourne-1.jpg|thumb|Osbourne, flanked by [[Philadelphia Police Department]] officers, leaves [[Borders Group|Borders]] in [[Center City, Philadelphia|Center City]] after signing copies of ''[[I Am Ozzy]]'', his autobiography, on 27 January 2010.]]
Throughout his career, many religious groups have accused Osbourne of being a negative influence on teenagers, stating that his genre of rock music has been used to glorify [[Satanism]]. Scholar Christopher M. Moreman compared the controversy to those levelled against the occultist [[Aleister Crowley]]. Both were demonised by the media and some religious groups for their antics. Although Osbourne tempts the comparison with his song "[[Mr. Crowley]]", he denies being a Satanist; conversely, it has been reported that Osbourne is a member of the [[Church of England]] and that he prays before taking the stage each night before every concert.<ref>{{cite journal| last =Moreman| first =Christopher M.| title =Devil Music and the Great Beast: Ozzy Osbourne, Aleister Crowley, and the Christian Right| journal =Journal of Religion and Popular Culture| volume =V| date =Fall 2003| url =https://www.usask.ca/relst/jrpc/art5-devilmusic.html| access-date =9 June 2008| url-status=dead| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20071105231856/http://www.usask.ca/relst/jrpc/art5-devilmusic.html| archive-date =5 November 2007| df =dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/23/garden/at-tea-with-ozzy-osbourne-family-man-fights-fat-is-good-with-kids.html |work=The New York Times | title=AT TEA WITH: Ozzy Osbourne; Family Man. Fights Fat, Is Good With Kids. |date=23 September 1992 |first=Nick |last=Ravo}}</ref>

In 1981, after signing his first solo career record deal, Osbourne bit the head off a dove during a meeting with [[Columbia Records|CBS Records]] executives in Los Angeles.<ref name="mark">{{cite web | title=Ozzy left his mark | url=http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/ENT/502270318 | first=Kyle | last=Munson | work=[[The Des Moines Register]] | access-date=28 March 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091008052508/http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/ENT/502270318 | archive-date=8 October 2009 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> Apparently, he had planned to release doves into the air as a sign of peace, but due to being intoxicated at the time, he instead grabbed a dove and bit its head off. He then spat the head out,<ref name="mark" /><ref>{{cite web | title=Controversy & Madness | url=http://www.veinotte.com/ozzy/madness.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991117043902/http://www.veinotte.com/ozzy/madness.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=17 November 1999 | work=Ozzy Osbourne Biography | publisher=Veinotte | access-date=28 March 2009 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> with blood still dripping from his lips. Due to its controversy, the head-biting act has been parodied and alluded to several times throughout his career and is part of what made Osbourne famous.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news | title=Highs and lows of superstar Ozzy |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4035683.stm | work=Entertainment News |publisher=BBC | date=23 November 2004 | access-date=28 March 2009}}</ref>

{{Quote box|width=29%|align=left|quote="I'm like the [[Dennis the Menace and Gnasher|Dennis the Menace]] kind of crazy. Fun crazy, I hope."|source=—Osbourne describing himself in the British documentary, ''Hellraisers'', [[Channel 4]], 2000.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/uD_O2cc7OkQ Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20140418170843/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD_O2cc7OkQ Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite news |title=Hellraisers |url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uD_O2cc7OkQ |agency=Channel 4 |date=2000|access-date=5 May 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>}}
On 20 January 1982, Osbourne bit the head off a [[bat]]<ref>{{cite web|author=Terr |url=http://www.upvenue.com/article/1437-top-10-crazy-music-myths.html |title=Top 10 crazy music myths |publisher=Upvenue.com |access-date=30 June 2013}}</ref> that he thought was rubber while performing at the [[Veterans Memorial Auditorium (Des Moines)|Veterans Memorial Auditorium]] in [[Des Moines, Iowa]]. According to a 2004 ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' article, the bat was alive at the time;<ref>Archive of Sullivan, James, [https://web.archive.org/web/20080822012126/http://www.rollingstone.com/Mythozzy "Ozzy Bites Head Off Bat! Rock's Wildest Myths #2"], ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', 12 October 2004. Original retrieved 28 March 2009. Archive retrieved 3 November 2010. [https://web.archive.org/web/20041017020213/http://www.rollingstone.com/Mythozzy Original site].</ref> however, 17-year-old Mark Neal, who threw it onto the stage, said it was brought to the show dead.<ref name="mark" /> According to Osbourne in the booklet to the 2002 edition of ''[[Diary of a Madman (album)|Diary of a Madman]]'', the bat was not only alive but managed to bite him, resulting in Osbourne being treated for [[rabies]]. On 20 January 2019, Osbourne commemorated the 37th anniversary of the bat incident by offering an "Ozzy Plush Bat" toy "with detachable head" for sale on his personal web-store. The site claimed the first batch of toys sold out within hours.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ozzy's plush toy bat with detachable head marks 37 years since infamous incident {{!}} Entertainment & Showbiz from CTV News |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/ozzy-osbourne-commemorates-bat-biting-anniversary-with-a-plush-toy-1.4262010 |website=www.ctvnews.ca |date=21 January 2019 |access-date=22 January 2019}}</ref>

On New Year's Eve 1983, Canadian youth James Jollimore killed a woman and her two sons in [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]], after listening to the "[[Bark at the Moon (song)|Bark at the Moon]]" song. A friend of the murderer quoted: "Jimmy said that every time he listened to the song, he felt strange inside ... He said when he heard it on New Year's Eve, he went out and stabbed someone".<ref>{{cite book| last = McIver| first = Joel| title = Sabbath Bloody Sabbath| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RQk9BAAAQBAJ&q=bark+at+the+moon+james+jollimore&pg=PT239| publisher=Omnibus Press1| location = United Kingdom| isbn =978-1-78323-127-0| date = 11 August 2014}}</ref>

In 1984, California teenager John McCollum committed suicide while listening to Osbourne's "[[Suicide Solution]]". The song deals with the dangers of alcohol misuse. McCollum's suicide led to allegations that Osbourne promoted suicide in his songs. McCollum had clinical depression. His parents sued Osbourne (''McCollum v. CBS'')<ref>Listed at FindLaw.com: 202 Cal.App.3d 989, [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/ca/calapp3d/year/1988_7.html McCollum v. CBS, Inc.], 12 July 1988. No. B025565</ref> for their son's death, saying the lyrics in the song, "Where to hide, suicide is the only way out. Don't you know what it's really about?" convinced McCollum to commit suicide. The family's lawyer suggested that Osbourne should be criminally charged for encouraging a young person to commit suicide, but the courts ruled in Osbourne's favour, saying there was no connection between the song and McCollum's suicide. Osbourne was sued for the same reason in 1991 (''Waller v. Osbourne''), by the parents of Michael Waller, for $9&nbsp;million, but the courts once again ruled in Osbourne's favour.<ref>{{cite book| last = Nuzum| first = Eric| title = Parental Advisory: Music Censorship in America| publisher = HarperCollins| year = 2001| location = New York City| pages = [https://archive.org/details/parentaladvisory00nuzu/page/57 57–58]| isbn = 978-0-688-16772-1| title-link = Parental Advisory: Music Censorship in America}}</ref>

In lawsuits filed in 2000 and 2002 which were dismissed by the courts in 2003, former band members Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake, and [[Phil Soussan]] stated that Osbourne was delinquent in paying them [[Royalty payment|royalties]] and had denied them due credit on albums they played on.<ref>Cosmic Debris Magazine [http://www.cosmik.com/aa-august02/daisley.html Bob Daisley] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131121225021/http://www.cosmik.com/aa-august02/daisley.html |date=21 November 2013 }}. Retrieved on 4 August 2008</ref><ref>Yahoo! Music [http://music.yahoo.com/read/story/12037722 Ozzy Osbourne Lawsuit Dismissed, But 'Not Over Yet']. Retrieved on 4 August 2008</ref> In November 2003, a Federal Appeals Court unanimously upheld the dismissal by the [[United States District Court for the Central District of California|US District Court for the Central District of California]] of the lawsuit brought by Daisley and Kerslake. The [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit|US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]] ruled that Osbourne does not owe any royalties or credit to the former band members who were let go in 1981.<ref name="lawsuit dismissed">{{cite web|title=Federal Appeals Court: Ozzy Does Not Owe Royalties |url=http://www.knac.com/article.asp?ArticleID=2558 |publisher=Knac.com |access-date=13 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140724062427/http://knac.com/article.asp?ArticleID=2558 |archive-date=24 July 2014  }}</ref> To resolve further issues, management chose to replace Daisley and Kerslake's contributions on the original masters, replacing them with [[Robert Trujillo]] on bass and [[Mike Bordin]] on drums. The albums were then reissued.<ref>Blabbermouth [http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=4693 BOB DAISLEY: Recent OZZY Reissues Are Insult To RANDY RHOADS' Memory] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091016083048/http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=4693 |date=16 October 2009 }}. Retrieved on 4 August 2008</ref> The original tracks have since been restored in accordance with the 30th anniversary of those albums.

In July 2010, Osbourne and Tony Iommi decided to discontinue the court proceedings over ownership of the Black Sabbath [[trademark]]. As reported to ''Blabbermouth'', "Both parties are glad to put this behind them and to cooperate for the future and would like it to be known that the issue was never personal, it was always business."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://exclaim.ca/articles/generalarticlesynopsfullart.aspx?csid1=145&csid2=844&fid1=48266 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708202621/http://exclaim.ca/articles/generalarticlesynopsfullart.aspx?csid1=145&csid2=844&fid1=48266 |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 July 2012 |title=Exclaim News: Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi Settle Legal Battle Over Black Sabbath Name |publisher=Exclaim.ca |date=21 July 2010 |access-date=4 August 2010 }}</ref>