Sharon Osbourne Defends Ozzy Osbourne Digital Avatar Against ‘Money Grab’ Claims

Sharon Osbourne has responded directly to the backlash surrounding a forthcoming Ozzy Osbourne digital avatar, telling Metal Hammer that accusations of a cash-in are misplaced. “I’ve seen such shit online about it being a ‘money grab.’ Why would I need to do that? It’s not as if I’m using Ozzy to sell fucking weedkiller or beer,” she said. “Ozzy loved the idea. We’ve been talking about it for 10 years.”

The project, still in production, was announced last May at Licensing Expo 2026 in partnership with Hyperreal and Proto Hologram. Sharon and son Jack Osbourne have been its most visible proponents, with Jack previously stating the avatar would not be “fucking lame.”

Osbourne, who died in July 2025, left behind a tightly managed catalogue of posthumous plans. Alongside the avatar, this fall will bring Ozzy-themed haunted attractions to Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights. A biopic and a concert film from the “Back to the Beginning” farewell show—featuring the final performances of both Ozzy and Black Sabbath—are also in development. Sharon told Metal Hammer she hopes the concert film arrives before the end of the year.

Her framing of the avatar as a way to avoid endlessly revisiting the same video footage speaks to a calculated extension of a performer’s presence. Whether audiences accept that logic remains to be seen, but Sharon’s tone left little room for ambiguity: “If you don’t like it, don’t go see it. I’m not at people’s houses with a fucking gun, going, ‘Give me your money!'”