Roger Waters isn’t backing down from his controversial comments about Ozzy Osbourne, doubling down during a January 18, 2026 Piers Morgan interview with his trademark defiance. “I regret nothing in life,” the Pink Floyd co-founder declared, refusing to retract September 2025 remarks that dismissed the late Black Sabbath frontman’s career as “idiocy and nonsense.” Those original comments came just months after Osbourne’s death from a heart attack on July 22, 2025, sparking outrage across the metal community. What started as insensitive timing has evolved into a full-scale family war that reveals deeper tensions about respect and accountability in rock’s elder statesmanship.
The Original Sin Against Metal Royalty
Waters’ dismissive podcast comments about Ozzy’s legacy triggered the explosive family response.
During that fateful September 2025 Independent Ink podcast appearance, Waters delivered a brutal assessment of Osbourne’s contributions to music. He called the Prince of Darkness’s television appearances “idiocy and nonsense” spanning “hundreds of years” and dismissed Black Sabbath’s entire catalog as uninteresting. The Pink Floyd bassist showed particular disdain for Osbourne’s legendary stage antics, expressing zero interest in the bat-biting incidents that helped define metal’s theatrical DNA. Coming so soon after Osbourne’s passing, these comments landed like a sledgehammer on grieving fans and family members still processing their loss.
The Osbournes Strike Back With Venom
Jack and Sharon Osbourne unleashed furious responses across social media and podcasts.
The Osbourne family’s retaliation came swift and merciless. Jack Osbourne torched Waters on Instagram, calling him “pathetic and out of touch” while revealing that his father always thought the bassist was a “c*nt.” Sharon Osbourne escalated the warfare during a November 2025 podcast appearance, describing Waters as resembling “Frankenstein” and dismissing him as a “sad, irrelevant, old, miserable human being.” The family even weaponized their merchandise machine, releasing shirts featuring a cartoon Ozzy urinating on Pink Floyd’s iconic Wall. These weren’t just angry words—they were calculated strikes designed to humiliate.
Deflection Politics and Conditional Regrets
Waters deflects criticism by attacking Sharon Osbourne’s political views while offering hollow apologies.
Rather than acknowledging his poor timing, Waters chose deflection during his Piers Morgan appearance. He dismissed Sharon as a “raging Zionist” part of the “Israeli lobby”—initially calling her “Karen” before correcting himself—revealing his tendency to weaponize politics when cornered. While offering a conditional apology “if he hurt anyone,” Waters simultaneously invited Jack for a “non-nasty chat” while reaffirming his disinterest in Black Sabbath’s “histrionics.”
This calculated non-apology exemplifies how legacy artists navigate modern accountability culture: acknowledge hurt feelings without admitting actual wrongdoing. You’re watching two generations of rock royalty duke it out like it’s a Twitter beef, except with decades of musical gravitas behind every insult. The feud raises uncomfortable questions about timing, respect, and whether artistic integrity justifies insensitive comments about recently deceased peers.
