Sharon Osbourne hospitalised, misses Ozzy's Hellfest statue unveiling
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
Sharon Osbourne, wife of the late rock legend Ozzy Osbourne, revealed she was unable to attend the unveiling of her husband's statue at Hellfest in France after an unplanned hospitalisation earlier in the week. The announcement came via a social media post in which Sharon expressed both her regret and her gratitude to the festival organisers.
Sharon's Statement on Missing Hellfest
'I'm sorry I couldn't be at Hellfest for the unveiling of Ozzy's statue. Unfortunately I had an unexpected trip to the hospital earlier in the week,' Sharon Osbourne wrote on social media. She went on to thank Olivier Garnier, Ben Barbaud, and the entire Hellfest team, with a special mention for sculptor Philippe Pasqua for what she called an 'absolutely stunning statue.'
Sharon did not disclose further details about the nature of her hospitalisation or her current condition.
A Pattern of Health Challenges
This is not the first time Sharon has faced a medical setback. In 2022, she was hospitalised following a sudden medical emergency. In January 2023, she appeared on the UK programme The Talk and disclosed that she had lost consciousness for approximately 20 minutes while filming.
'I was doing some filming and suddenly they told me that I (passed out) for 20 minutes. And I was in hospital, I went to one hospital, they took me to another hospital, and I did every test over two days, and nobody knows why,' she said in that interview.
In 2020, Sharon was briefly hospitalised after testing positive for Covid-19. She has also previously battled colon cancer, though she has since spoken publicly about being in remission, addressing the experience on the family reality series The Osbournes.
The Hellfest Statue and Ozzy's Legacy
The statue unveiled at Hellfest — one of Europe's premier heavy metal festivals, held annually in Clisson, France — pays tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, widely regarded as the Prince of Darkness and a foundational figure in heavy metal music. His absence from the event, and now Sharon's, has drawn an outpouring of support from fans and the metal community worldwide.
The AI Digitisation Plan
Earlier this month, Sharon and son Jack Osbourne addressed plans to preserve Ozzy's likeness and voice through artificial intelligence. Sharon pushed back against criticism that the project was commercially motivated.
'Technology moves on,' she said. 'For somebody to turn around to me and say I'm doing a cash grab, no. You don't know my husband. I know my husband. And my husband would say to me over and over: How long do you think I'll be remembered? It is something that will pass on through our family, and it's for our grandkids,' she added.
As Sharon recovers, the Osbourne family continues to navigate both grief and the public dimensions of preserving Ozzy's legacy — on stone, and now in digital form.