Dee Snider has issued an apology to Kelly Osbourne about his comments about her late father, Ozzy, saying that he was sorry for “hurting” her with the remarks.
The spat between the two of them started earlier this month, when Snider took to social media and suggested that Ozzy’s songwriting contributions were overstated on the credits of his solo and Black Sabbath discography.
First, a fan highlighted how Motörhead‘s Lemmy is credited with co-writing a number of songs on Ozzy’s 1991 ‘No More Tears’ album, including ‘I Don’t Want to Change the World’, ‘Mama, I’m Coming Home’ and ‘Hellraiser’.
“I know too much about the truth behind the scenes. Let’s just say that [Osbourne’s wife and longtime manager] Sharon doesn’t like to share,” Snider wrote in a reply.
Another user then wrote about how bassist Bob Daisley had written a “load” for Ozzy before being fired in the early ’80s, to which Snider responded: “A load? How about ALL the lyrics? Ozzy always had bass players write his lyrics.”
“A load”? How about ALL the lyrics? Ozzy always had bass players write his lyrics. @geezerbutler wrote ALL of @BlackSabbath lyrics. Daisley wrote lyrics for the first two solo albums (I’m pretty sure he was paid to write on other records but not credited) & Lemmy wrote lyrics. https://t.co/yRTF19ro4w
— Dee Snider🇺🇸🎤 (@deesnider) August 12, 2026
The comments sparked a response from Ozzy’s daughter, Kelly, who then made a series of posts online accusing the Twister Sister vocalist of diminishing her late father’s musical contributions.
“My father’s legacy as a musician, songwriter, singer and bandleader speaks for itself,” she wrote, before later aiming directly at the singer. “Your last hit … not to age myself was the year I was born over 40 years ago.”
She continued: “There’s something spectacularly classless about Dee Snider trying to diminish my father Ozzy Osbourne and his extraordinary abilities and achievements when he’s no longer here to challenge his allegations.
“Particularly when Snider cannot claim to know the private reality of my father’s life simply by looking in from the outside or from hearsay from a delusional man with a vendetta against my father, when to the best of my knowledge they were maybe in the same room once if even at all.”
She went on to compare their respective careers, nodding to Ozzy’s towering influence over heavy metal, which she said would “continue to influence generations long after all of us are gone”, while “the music industry moved on from Snider’s commercial peak decades ago”.
Snider then tried to clear the air last Friday (August 14), writing: “To be clear, I HAVE NOTHING BUT LOVE FOR OZZY. He was always lovely to me. @BlackSabbath changed my life! As a songwriter I can be a little touchy about credit and royalties”.
And again. To be clear, I HAVE NOTHING BUT LOVE FOR OZZY. He was always lovely to me. @BlackSabbath changed my life! As a songwriter I can be a little touchy about credit and royalties. https://t.co/ZUlgFO4g0j
— Dee Snider🇺🇸🎤 (@deesnider) August 14, 2026
Now, he has directly apologised to Kelly for his remarks and said that he did not mean to “hurt” her with his posts online discussing her father.
He shared a post from a fan which read: “From what I saw on Instagram, Kelly seemed hurt because she took it as diminishing Ozzy’s legacy — not because the songwriting history itself is false. Text strips away tone. I know you respect Ozzy. If it were me, I’d simply say: ‘I’m sorry it hurt you. That was never my intent.’”
Snider then thanked that person and said that it explained where he was coming from. Sharing it, he wrote “I’ve been looking for the right response.”
He then tagged Kelly in the update and wrote: “I’m sorry what I said hurt you. It was never my intent. My sympathies on the loss of your dad”.
@KellyOsbourne I’m sorry what I said hurt you. It was never my intent. My sympathies on the loss of your dad.
— Dee Snider🇺🇸🎤 (@deesnider) August 18, 2026
The heavy metal icon, solo star and Black Sabbath frontman passed away on July 22 2025 aged 76.
Already there has been the first ever “Ozzy Day” held in his Birmingham hometown exactly one year after his passing. This saw fans show up to pay their respects, a brass band performing Black Sabbath classics, and the mechanical “Ozzy The Bull” statue in New Street station being decorated with the singer’s iconic glasses.
Before then, Sharon and Jack confirmed that an AI avatar of the Prince Of Darkness was on the way and Sharon also responded to those who were calling the move a “cash grab” – telling them that she “doesn’t need your fucking money”.
Elsewhere, Jack has confirmed that a biopic about his parents Ozzy and Sharon is “absolutely” happening, and Ozzfest is returning in 2027, taking place in Birmingham.
