Summary
- Ozzy Osbourne put Kanye West in his place after Ye sampled Black Sabbath music without permission.
- The Osbournes did not hesitate to publicly call out Kanye for his disrespectful behavior and anti-Semitic remarks.
- Kanye removed the unauthorized Black Sabbath sample from his album after the Osbournes criticized him online.
Kanye West has feuded with many celebrities, including his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian – who is deemed accountable for Ye's parenting antics by psychologists. But when the rapper clashed with Black Sabbath frontman, Ozzy Osbourne, he didn't think the English musician would be quite the force, especially alongside his "not-a-plastic surgery-addict" wife, Sharon Osbourne.
After Ye sampled Black Sabbath's music without approval, the Osbournes blasted him until he eventually folded. While the Donda artist isn't one to win any feuds, it was still surprising how the reality stars put him in his place without much effort. Here's a closer look at their brief online spat.
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Ozzy Osbourne Blasted Kanye West For Sampling Black Sabbath's Song Without Permission
In February 2024, Ozzy attacked Kanye on X (formerly Twitter) for sampling Black Sabbath's Iron Man and Carnival in his album, Vultures 1. "[Ye] ASKED PERMISSION TO SAMPLE A SECTION OF A 1983 LIVE PERFORMANCE OF 'IRON MAN' FROM THE US FESTIVAL WITHOUT VOCALS & WAS REFUSED PERMISSION BECAUSE HE IS AN ANTISEMITE AND HAS CAUSED UNTOLD HEARTACHE TO MANY," wrote the band's vocalist.
"HE WENT AHEAD AND USED THE SAMPLE ANYWAY AT HIS ALBUM LISTENING PARTY LAST NIGHT. I WANT NO ASSOCIATION WITH THIS MAN!" Ozzy added.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Ozzy said he had no regrets blasting Ye on X. "With the current state of affairs, you don't need anybody starting people on discrimination of any kind," he said. "It's wrong. It's just wrong. There's enough fu--ing aggravation, and he shouldn't say anything [like what he has]."
He continued: "It's wrong if you don't say anything about him. I don't want any of my work in any shape or form to be associated with anything like that." Ozzy's wife and manager, Sharon is a patrilineal Jew. Her father and former Black Sabbath manager, Don Arden was Ashkenazi Jewish. "We were brought up in basically a Jewish household," Sharon told The Jewish Chronicle.
On why she adapted her father's religion despite their complicated relationship, she said: "My family, my father's family, my aunt, my cousins, are all Jewish. And observant Jews who practise and love their religion. So Judaism is the only religion I have, and the only one with which I feel comfortable."
Sharon Osbourne Doesn't Want To Be Linked To What Kanye West "Represents"
In a statement during the feud, Sharon – as Ozzy's manager – told Rolling Stone: "We are considering legal action. Ozzy has not spoken to Kanye, but our team have spoken with theirs." Later on, he told Howie Mandel what happened behind the scenes. "What happened was [Ye's] people, contacted us for permission to use Iron Man."
"We said no because we don't want to be associated with that and what he represents."
Sharon also revealed that "three of the guys in Black Sabbath are married to Jewish women. It was just a no. They all said no." Howie then said, "You don't have to be married to a Jew to know it's wrong," to which Sharon agreed, saying "Right? But it's personal. So we said no."
Speaking to Billboard at the peak of the rift, Sharon said: "The simple thing is, we don't want to be associated with a hater. To spread hate the way he does, it shouldn't be allowed. All the excuses — he's bipolar or whatever — doesn't change that. It's like, f--k you, basically."
Here's a list of companies that have dropped Kanye following his antisemitic remarks in 2022:
| Adidas | Kanye's Yeezy collaboration with the brand reportedly made $2 billion a year |
| Balenciaga | Kanye worked with the brand to develop a line for Gap |
| Creative Artists Agency (CAA) | Major talent agency handling Ye since 2016 |
| Cohen Clair Lans Greifer Thorpe and Rottenstreich | The law firm representing him in his divorce from Kim Kardashian |
| Gap | They shut down YeezyGap.com immediately after the scandal |
| JPMorgan Chase | The bank didn't give a detailed comment on the split |
| MRC | The Hollywood financier and producer announced it was "shelving" a then-recently completed documentary about the rapper |
| Twitter, Instagram | The social media platforms temporarily locked Ye out of his accounts after violating their terms-of-use policies |
| TJ Maxx | They instructed their buyers not to purchase any Ye merchandise |
| The RealReal | The clothing resale market announced it would no longer carry any Ye-related items, including all Yeezy products |
| Peloton | They "indefinitely paused" the use of Ye's music in their workouts |
| Foot Locker | They said they'd remain a partner of Adidas but would cease to stock Yeezy products from then on |
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Kanye West Removed His Unauthorized Black Sabbath Sample After The Osbournes Bashed Him Online
Sharon told Howie that "[Ye] went ahead and just left [the sample] on," but that "he took it off" after they "had to get like really nasty" online. During their campaign to call out Kanye, Sharon told TMZ: "Kanye f—ed with the wrong Jew this time." She added that Ozzy had "special f—ing occasion to say no" due to the 24-time Grammy winner's antisemitism.
Sharon said Ye "represents hate," is a "disrespectful antisemite," and "the motherf—er's a pig."
Vultures 1 ran into other publishing issues as well. After an initial distribution via the FUGA distribution platform, reportedly violating FUGA's service agreement, it was removed from streaming services on February 15, 2024. It was re-distributed by Label Engine that same day. Ye and his collaborator, TY Dolla Sign had been hosting listening parties for the album since December 2023.
Vultures 1 marked Kanye West's 11th number-one debut on the US Billboard 200. It broke his tied record with Eminem.
