Roger Waters Says He Never Liked Ozzy Osbourne Or Black Sabbath: 'I Couldn't Give A @#$%!'

Summary

• Roger Waters dismissed Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath, saying he ‘couldn’t give a @#$%!’ about their music.
• He mocked the bat-biting legend and The Osbournes reality show, though he confused details about the infamous incidents.
• Ironically, Ozzy was a lifelong Pink Floyd fan, praising songs like ‘Money’ and the album Obscured by Clouds.

Roger Waters, the former Pink Floyd leader, said he never cared for Ozzy Osbourne or Black Sabbath, and he delivered it with his typical nuclear frankness. Subtle? Not his brand.. Oh boy.

Speaking to The Independent Ink in a recent video interview, Waters referred to Ozzy in the past tense and waved off the music entirely:

“Ozzy Osbourne, who just died, bless him in his whatever that state that he was in his whole life. We’ll never know. The music, I have no idea. I couldn’t give a @#$%!”

He also took a swipe at the reality-TV era, calling out what he framed as the “idiocy” around The Osbournes. Diplomacy didn’t show up for this interview.

Waters didn’t stop with the solo career.

He lumped Sabbath in too, saying he never cared about the band and tossed in a jab about “biting the heads of chickens or whatever they do.”

That last bit misfires on the facts. Ozzy’s infamous moments involved a dove in a record-label meeting and a bat he thought was a prop onstage. Chickens were never invited.

Blunt verdict

This isn’t a new stance for Waters. Back in 1970, when Sabbath put out their first single “Evil Woman,” he dismissed it as underwhelming.

The man has a long track record of calling it like he hears it, and sometimes it sounds like a courtroom cross-examination. He’s consistent, if nothing else.

There’s an irony here. Ozzy actually loved Pink Floyd. He often praised “Money,” ranking it among his all-time favorites.

He also name-checked the soundtrack album Obscured by Clouds, and once went so far as to say Floyd never made a bad record. That’s not casual fandom.

That’s the kind of admiration that sticks for decades.

The contrast is sharp. One artist paying respect across the aisle; the other shrugging off a genre he never clicked with. T

astes clash, egos clash, and legacies keep going anyway. Rock history is full of these parallel lines that never meet.

Old jab, new context

Waters’s latest comments land in the shadow of Ozzy’s death, which triggered an avalanche of tributes across rock and metal.

Musicians talked about the first time they heard his voice, the chaos of early Sabbath, the vulnerability of the ballads, and the unkillable brand of mischief that defined him in public.

The mood was reflective, sometimes raw. In that sea of praise, Waters’s blunt take cuts against the grain.

To be fair, he framed his point around the larger idea of music’s influence and how it shapes people. He just chose to illustrate it by essentially saying Ozzy’s work never mattered to him.

That’s an opinion, not a verdict. The body of work says otherwise for millions of listeners who found their gateway to heavy music in Sabbath’s riff language and Ozzy’s unmistakable tone.

Context check

It’s easy to dunk on the “biting heads” lore and the reality-TV spectacle. It’s harder to argue with the resume.

Ozzy was enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Sabbath and recognized again for his solo career.

He was a fixture in pop culture for decades, often chaotic, sometimes funny, occasionally tragic. The story was messy. The influence was not.

In his final chapter, Ozzy took the stage one last time at Back to the Beginning, rejoining his Sabbath bandmates as peers from across heavy music turned up to salute him.

It felt like a closing scene written for the history books. The man who helped define metal’s silhouette exited with a crowd on its feet.

Waters’s critique will make headlines because he’s Waters, and blunt quotes travel fast. The larger picture is still clear.

Sabbath reshaped guitar music. Ozzy became one of rock’s instantly recognizable voices.

Now whether a progressive rock icon approves doesn’t change the miles of bands, records, and fans built on that foundation.

And if you’re keeping score at home: bat and dove, yes. Chicken, no. Even myths deserve decent fact-checking.

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Ozzy’s Final Album & Solo Highlights. In September 2022, Ozzy Osbourne dropped what turned out to be his last solo studio album, Patient Number 9, working with producer Andrew Watt and earning a Grammy for Best Rock Album.

He even teamed up again with Tony Iommi on that record. Around the same time he made surprise stage appearances at the 2022 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony and an NFL Kickoff, performing classics like “Iron Man” and “Paranoid”.

farewell Tour Drama & Album Packs. Between 2020 and 2021, Black Sabbath revisited their back catalog with Dr. Martens shoes and deluxe reissues of Heaven & Hell and Mob Rules, loaded with unreleased tracks.

Reunion, Then “The End” Tour Returns. Ozzy briefly hinted at a reunion, and the band even reunited at the 2022 Commonwealth Games for a medley.

Then rumors swirled throughout 2023–2024 about another farewell. Finally, in February 2025, they announced “Back to the Beginning”, a one-off final concert with the original lineup, Ozzy, Iommi, Butler, Ward, slated for July 5 in Birmingham.

The Final Show & Legacy Send-Off. The concert at Villa Park was the real send-off. It featured a star-studded supporting cast, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Slayer, and more, and went down as Ozzy’s final performance before his death just 17 days later.

The event effectively closed the Sabbath chapter, with the original lineup reunited for the first time in 20 years.

Health Battles & Farewell Documentary. Ozzy had wrestled with Parkinson’s, spinal injuries, multiple surgeries, and physical decline since 2019.

Yet he pushed through long enough to give this final performance. He later told The Guardian he didn’t want to be the rocker who “died in a hotel room,” and with the help of his wife Sharon, he shaped a dignified exit.

A BBC documentary, Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home, captures his final years and the return to the UK leading up to that last gig.

Aftermath & Family Matters. Ozzy passed away on July 22, 2025, at age 76, after that emotionally charged farewell.

Tributes poured in, and fans watched as his funeral procession wound through Birmingham landmarks tied to the Sabbath legacy. Meanwhile, the family navigates the estate and probate news emerged about inheritance complications.

Check out the full chat. 👇

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