Roger Waters has reaffirmed his dismissive remarks about Ozzy Osbourne made shortly after the singer's death last summer, which provoked backlash from the Osbourne family. In a recent interview, Waters refused to apologize and doubled down on his stance. The comments highlighted ongoing tensions between Waters and the family.
Roger Waters, the Pink Floyd co-founder, recently addressed the controversy surrounding his comments on Ozzy Osbourne in an interview with Piers Morgan. Following Osbourne's death last summer, Waters appeared on the Independent Ink podcast and expressed indifference toward the Black Sabbath frontman's life and music. "Ozzy Osbourne, who just died, bless him in his whatever state that he was in his whole life. We’ll never know. The music, I have no idea. I couldn’t give a fuck," Waters said. He added, "I don’t care about Black Sabbath, I never did. Have no interest in biting the heads of chickens or whatever they do. I couldn’t care less, you know."
These remarks quickly drew sharp criticism from the Osbourne family. Jack Osbourne responded on social media, writing, "Hey Roger Waters, fuck you. How pathetic and out of touch you’ve become. The only way you seem to get attention these days is by vomiting out bullshit in the press. My father always thought you were a cunt. Thanks for proving him right." The family even briefly released a mocking T-shirt featuring the phrase "Another Prick in the Wall" alongside an image of Osbourne urinating on Waters' The Wall: Live in Berlin album.
During the Piers Morgan interview, published on January 17, 2026, Waters acknowledged the comments but showed no remorse. "Those comments, I’m not denying that I said them, came in the middle of a long interview," he explained. He further defended himself by asking, "Do I have to like every rock group that ever was or people who bite the heads off bats?"
Waters explicitly declined to apologize to Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy's widow. "I obviously had no idea that Sharon Osbourne would be watching a podcast," he stated. "Not that I have any time for Sharon Osbourne, she’s a raging Zionist… and she’s accused me of all kinds of things… because she’s part of the Israeli lobby." Regarding Jack Osbourne, Waters offered, "Listen Jack… if he wants to have a chat, I’ll have a chat with him. And I won’t be nasty to him."
The exchange underscores the personal and ideological divides between Waters and the Osbournes, amplifying the original backlash.