Kelly Osbourne has defended the legacy of her late father, Ozzy Osbourne, which she says “speaks for itself”, against what she called “spectacularly classless” comments from musician Dee Snider.
The Twisted Sister frontman, 71, has shared a series of posts on X over the past week about the late Black Sabbath singer, claiming he knows “too much about the truth behind the scenes” while discussing song-writing credits. The musician, radio and TV personality, real name Daniel Snider, also wrote a comment seemingly directed at Ozzy’s widow Sharon Osbourne – saying she “doesn’t like to share”.
Kelly’s Instagram response
Kelly, the youngest daughter of the Prince of Darkness, shared several lengthy posts on Instagram responding to “Snider’s attempt to belittle my father”, whilst highlighting his “extraordinary abilities and achievements”. In a post set to her father’s popular track No More, the 41-year-old wrote: “My father’s legacy as a musician, songwriter, singer and bandleader speaks for itself.”
“His friends, those who love him, and millions of fans around the world that still continue to buy his records know exactly what he meant, what he contributed and what he leaves behind,” she continued. “His legacy will live on eternally.”
In an additional post, Kelly said: “There’s something spectacularly classless about Dee Snider trying to diminish my father Ozzy Osbourne and his extraordinary abilities and achievements when he is no longer here to challenge his allegations.”
Song-writing dispute context
Snider’s comments were sparked by a conversation on X about song-writing credits and royalties, in which he referenced musicians including Lemmy and Bob Daisley, the latter of whom had a long-running dispute with Ozzy on the matter. Kelly branded Daisley, who co-wrote tracks for Ozzy including Crazy Train, a “delusional man with a vendetta against my father”.
The reality TV star, who is also an actress, went on to compare Ozzy and Snider’s respective careers. She said: “Snider had a brief period of mainstream success more than 40 years ago.”
“My father’s career spanned nearly six decades – from helping define heavy metal with Black Sabbath to building an extraordinary solo career,” she added. “His music will continue influencing generations long after all of us are gone.”
Legacy and career comparison
“My father doesn’t need Dee Snider’s approval to establish his place in music history,” Kelly continued. “And trying to make my father smaller won’t make Dee Snider bigger, it only reminds everyone of the enormous difference between their legacies and further proves just how irrelevant Snider is to the music industry and society as a whole.”
“However, I would like to thank you Dee Snider for allowing the world to see how desperate he truly is,” she concluded.
Ozzy Osbourne died aged 76 in July last year, just over two weeks after his Back To The Beginning farewell concert where he was reunited with his bandmates. Black Sabbath formed in 1968 and are widely credited with defining and popularising the sound of heavy metal.
Snider is best known as the frontman of 1980s heavy metal band Twisted Sister, who have produced tracks such as We’re Not Gonna Take It and I Wanna Rock. Since walking away from live performances, Snider has focused on broadcast work across TV and radio, and also runs a film production company.
