Sharon Osbourne reveals no one knew 'how sick Ozzy was' when he took to the stage for final gig

Sharon Osbourne has revealed that no one knew how sick late husband Ozzy Osbourne was when he took to the stage to perform his final gig. 

The Black Sabbath star was given strict instructions not to perform the Back To The Beginning show at Villa Park but chose to ignore doctors orders for a chance to say goodbye and thank fans. 

Just two weeks later, Ozzy died of a heart attack on July 22, 2025, at the age of 76. He had suffered a string of health woes including Parkinson's disease. 

But discussing Ozzy's struggles at the British premiere of a film about the final concert, Sharon said: 'He was just praying that his lungs would work and that he could sing.'

She also shared her pain of being one of the only people to know the truth about her husband's health as she even shielded their children from it. 

'I was petrified,' she said. 'He did great and we see that in the film. But the guys (Black Sabbath) didn't know how sick Ozzy was. Even my kids, we never told my kids. Nobody knew how sick he was.

'Besides that, just being together again in Aston Villa, where it all began, their lives must have been flashing through their heads while they were on that stage.'

She added: 'He was just praying that his lungs would work and that he could sing. Because I mean, he had with everything else that was wrong with him, he had emphysema. 

'So for him to breathe was very very hard. You never knew from one day to the next. He could be great for two days, and then on the third day, he'd wake up, and you know, all you'd hear was wheezing, and he couldn't breathe, so it was it was tough.'

In the film, Sharon explained that days before the gig Ozzy was told he 'wouldn't make it through' the performance but he was determined because he had made a commitment.  

The decision seemed to be the right one as the concert was one of the most memorable in the history of heavy metal and allowed Ozzy to say a fitting farewell to his industry friends and his fans.

Sharon said the concert transformed her ailing husband, describing him as like a different person in the days afterwards following years of illness.

She said: 'He was flying high again. He was so happy. Until the day he passed, he was still on that high, so thankful to everyone.

'It was so joyous for us to see because we hadn't seen him like that for years. He was laughing, telling jokes again. It was brilliant.'

The film also shows Ozzy thanking his wife on stage for her two-year mission to put on the concert. Other bands including Metallica and Guns and Roses performed.

Sharon and Ozzy married in 1982 and had three children, Aimee, 43; Kelly, 41; and Jack, 40. Ozzy was also a father to Jessica, Louis and adopted son Elliot, from his previous marriage to Thelma Riley.

It comes after Jack defended his family's decision to create an AI avatar of his late father Ozzy and insisted that it isn't a 'cash grab'.

Following the Black Sabbath frontman's death last year, his widow Sharon revealed the family inked an agreement with AI avatar company Hyperreal And Proto Hologram, which specialises in lifelike 3D holograms.

She revealed earlier this year that fans would be able to speak with the AI recreation, saying at the Licensing Expo 2026: 'The things that you can do with that are just endless.'

I'm A Celeb star Jack, 40, has now defended the decision saying he wants to be 'out in front' when it comes to the new technology.

Speaking on Jamie Laing's Great Company podcast, he said: 'Yeah, we're doing this...'.

Jamie then chipped in: 'And you know, by the way, I know you got backlash for it but I think it's a great idea. I love it.'

Jack then said: 'Well you know, there was backlash. It was my own fault. I you know, it was like we had just kind of figured this thing out and that we were going to do it and I guess I wasn't properly armed with the way to properly explain what it was.

'And I think people thought that, you know, next thing you know, it's going to be Ozzy Osbourne, you know, doing freaking, you know, selling, you know, cell phones. It's like no, we and a lot of people are doing this now'

'We are creating this digital fingerprint you ultimately will own the digital IP and image of that person.

'It was our choice to go, hey, we should be out in front of this and we should not be, you know, on the back foot with having this kind of new pillar of entertainment properly locked down.'

Sharon and Jack had previously defended the decision in the wake of criticism, as they spoke on their The Osbournes podcast recently, where she insisted the avatar will also be 'for their grandkids'.  

Sharon said: 'I was reading some, and it's like, 'Oh, f**k off. Give me a break. The thing is, it's like saying when there were propellers and then there were jet planes. 'Oh, well, cash grab! Why go on a jet when there's a propeller? What are you doing?'

'Well, you know what, technology moves on. And I'm sorry for those people. I'm not asking you to come. I don't want your f**king money. I don't need your f**king money. I'm doing very well.'

She continued on her tangent, saying: 'And the thing is, for somebody to turn around to me and say I'm doing a cash grab? No, you don't know my husband, OK? I know my husband. 

'And my husband would say to me over and over, 'After I go, how long do you think I'll be remembered? How long do you think?' And I go, 'I just don't know, cause I'll probably be going with you. So, don't ask me.''

'[It's something] that will pass on through our family, and it's for our grandkids.'

Jack said: 'I have so much I want to unpack with this because what we're doing ... isn't ChatGPT with dad's face on it. This is a closed AI....

'So it's not connected to the internet. We build a database. And the thing that I cannot emphasize enough is that this is only information that either my dad said or was accurate or was written accurately...

'[It will] be tasteful and the reaction… It's innovative. It's either we do it or someone else is gonna do it. For me, it's not about pretending he's still alive. It's making sure he's never forgotten...

'The most important thing for me is that when we create this digital imprint of dad, we create it. We own it. We control it.'