Ozzy Osbourne Confirms Parkinson's Diagnosis After Months Of Denying Rumors About His Failing Health
It's far from the end for this rock legend.
Getty Images Ozzy Osbourne is one of the forefathers — if not the forefather — of the heavy metal genre. At 71 years old, Osbourne is light-years away from his young lion days, when he sang "War Pigs" with his hair in his face as Tony Iommi created a guitar sound that was often imitated, but never, ever duplicated. Despite this, he is still beloved by rock music fans the world over.
Recently, rumors began swirling about his failing health — and this led fans to believe that Ozzy Osbourne was dying. But is Ozzy Osbourne dying?
On January 21, Osbourne confirmed these rumors, revealing that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in February 2019 after falling in his home. He appeared on Good Morning America to discuss the diagnosis.
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Let's look at what we know about the initial rumors of Osbourne's health, as well as his diagnosis and his future treatment.
1. Is Ozzy Osbourne dying? The most recent rumors suggested he was not well.
A report released on New Year's Day suggested that Osbourne was "losing his marbles" and couldn't even recognize his wife, Sharon, anymore. This same report suggested that Osbourne wanted to "be put out of his misery" and that he was "suffering greatly."
Once this report went viral, rumors of Ozzy Osbourne dying began flying all over the Internet.
2. He postponed his European tour last year.
In October 2019, Osbourne postponed his planned European tour because he was still recovering from a fall that required extensive surgery on his spine. He also was suffering from complications thanks to pneumonia.
Osbourne made the announcement of his postponed tour on his social media accounts, but was quick to make clear that he was "recovering" and not dying.
3. Sharon Osbourne also said that her husband wasn't dying.
"How cold and callous are those headlines? Where's people's empathy? It's not [true] by any stretch of the imagination. I've been open with everyone and so has Ozzy," Sharon Osbourne said back in an October 2019 edition of The Talk, refuting rumors that her husband was dying on her hit talk show. Sharon Osbourne has long been a defender of her husband, to whom she's been married since 1982.
She also clarified the current death rumors as being false, as well, when TMZ caught up with Sharon and Ozzy — who looked anything but bedridden — at a gas station.
4. Ozzy Osbourne released a video to his fans making clear that he wasn't dying.
In October 2019, referring to the progression in his "f***ing neck," Ozzy Osbourne released a video shortly after he postponed his European tour to let his fans know that he was okay, despite the fall and injuries he'd suffered.
He originally was set to go on his farewell tour — the "No More Tours" tour — beginning in April 2019. He postponed it at the time because of a fall he'd suffered, and then postponed it again in October 2019 when the healing process took longer than expected.
As it turned out, the fall he'd suffered in February 2019 — which he suffered while battling pneumonia, no less — aggravated an old injury from 2003, when he'd suffered serious injuries from an ATV accident.
"They thought I was dead, but I've come back again," he said. "[But] I've got more nuts and bolts in my neck now, than in my car." Well, at least he's good-humored about the whole thing.
5. Kelly Osbourne called the latest reports of Ozzy Osbourne dying "utter bulls***."
Like her mother Sharon, Kelly Osbourne is unafraid to speak her mind. So, when reports of her father dying came out in the blog-osphere, she wasted no time taking to her Instagram Stories to denounce the reports as "utter bulls***."
"Today I had a wonderful start to 2020. I went out to lunch with my family. Then I spent the rest of the day lunching and hanging out with my dad. I come home to read sickening articles about my dad supposedly being on his 'death bed' sometimes the media makes me sick! "It's no secret that my dad has had a rough year when it comes to his health but come the F*C** on this is utter bulls***," she said.
6. Osbourne confirmed that he has Parkinson's.
While appearing on Good Morning America, Osbourne revealed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. Parkinson's is a nervous system disorder that progresses slowly over time. Symptoms include tremors, muscle rigidity, loss of movement, slow movement, and changes in speech. There is no cure.
In an interview with Robin Roberts, Osbourne sat down with his wife Sharon, and recounted his challenging year, that began with his fall in February 2019.
Following his fall, he had to have surgery on his neck, and then was diagnosed. Sharon revealed Ozzy has the "Parkin 2" gene. "There's so many different types of Parkinson's. It's not a death sentence but it affects certain nerves in your body. You have a good day, a good day, then a really bad day," she said.
Ozzy added that he's on "a host of medications," mainly for the surgery and the numbness in his arms and legs. He's also on a medication for "Parkin 2."
The rocker also opened up about the guilt he felt for carrying the secret diagnosis with him for so long. "I'm no good with secrets. I cannot walk around with it any more 'cause it's like I'm running out of excuses, you know?" he said.
He also thanked his fans, adding, "I feel better. I've owned up to the fact that I have... a case of Parkinson's. And I just hope they hang on and they're there for me because I need them... They're my air, you know."
7. He has plans to go back to performing.
In the interview, Sharon began crying at the thought of Ozzy not being able to perform, which she said, "it is the air that he breathes. This is the longest he's ever been home, and it's time for him to get back on the road because he's driving me mad. He really needs to get back out there."
Ozzy then added, "I just can't wait to get well and to go on the road again. That's what's killing me. I need... that's my drug today. Not all the other crap... I ain't gonna go anywhere yet."
In April 2020, the Osbournes plan to travel to Switzerland to see a professor who "deals with getting your immune system at its peak."
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, publicist, and photographer whose work has appeared in Teen Vogue, People, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, BET.com, and more.