Ozzy Blasts Geezer Butler for Not Reaching Out, Butler Responds

Ozzy Osbourne’s ongoing medical woes have been widely publicized, so you’d think that just about anyone who’s ever been close to him would’ve reached out by now. According to Ozzy, however, Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler has yet to phone him, and Geezer has since disputed his former bandmate’s accusation.

In the latest issue of Rolling Stone UK, Ozzy dove into his many things regarding his current personal and professional lives. Naturally, his struggles with Parkinson’s disease (as well as his health in general) came up, and it was then that Ozzy lambasted Geezer for not contacting him.

“You do find out who’s a genuine friend when you’ve been through what I’ve had,” Ozzy began [via Rolling Stone UK]. “[Black Sabbath guitarist] Tony Iommi has been so supportive of me since my illness. Geezer Butler hasn’t given me one fucking phone call. Not one fucking call.”

He continued [via Rolling Stone UK]:

When his son was fucking born, I phoned him every fucking night even though we were at war with each other, Black Sabbath and me [after his sacking]. I thought, “Fuck it, he’s my mate, I’m gonna call him.” But from him, not one fucking call. It’s sad, man. We all grew up together, and he can’t pick up the fucking phone like a man and see how I’m doing. Even [Black Sabbath drummer] Bill Ward has been in touch with me. I said some things about Bill, and I don’t know why I said it, but when I came through my illness, he contacted me. I’m not in shock, I’m just very fucking sad that he can’t just call me after all this time and say, “How you doing?” Fucking arsehole.

During the interview – and as Loudwire previously reported – Ozzy also discussed how their quarrel stems their wives having “a falling-out!” He added [via Rolling Stone UK]: “But that’s got fucking nothing to do with me. Are you really going to hide behind your wife’s skirt because of that?”

Yesterday (Nov. 25), Geezer took to Instagram to post his own version of the situation:

Rumour has it; Ozzy is upset, saying he never received my get well messages. I made 2 different attempts at getting in touch during his illnesses. My first email (8 Feb, 2019) went through his office because I didn’t have Ozzy’s new number to text him. Sharon responded but I didn’t hear back from Ozzy. 11 months later (21 Jan, 2020), I emailed Sharon to check on Oz. That email went unanswered. I don’t want to engage in a tit for tat. Having made 2 attempts to wish Ozzy well , without a reply, I figured it best to privately keep him in my thoughts.

As of this writing, Ozzy hasn’t responded to him.

In related news, Sharon Osbourne recently chastised the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for not inducting Ozzy as a solo artist. Despite the original Black Sabbath lineup being inducted in 2006 – as well as Ozzy’s “43 years as a solo artist” amassing “nearly a hundred million albums sold,” as Sharon put it – he’s yet to be an inductee in his own right.

Elsewhere, Kelly Osbourne revealed the “massive negative effect” The Osbournes reality TV series had on her family’s mental health