Kelly Osbourne speaks out on her father Ozzy Osbourne dying. 💔
“I feel unhappy I am so sad. I lost the best friend I ever had.”
Following his death on Tuesday (July 22nd), Ozzy Osbourne’s sisters Jean Powell and Gillian Hemming paid tribute to their brother (whose real name is John Osbourne), describing him as “loving and funny” and telling The Mirror that they were devastated to learn of his death.
In the weeks leading up to his passing, Osbourne’s siblings fortunately got to spend some time with him before his final show at “Back to the Beginning” in his hometown of Birmingham, England. Jean, however, explained that it was absolutely heartbreaking to see the toll Parkinson’s disease had taken on her brother.
“We saw him in Birmingham the other week when he and the rest of [Black Sabbath] were given the freedom of the city,” she told The Mirror. “It was upsetting because he could not stand up straight, but he was still our John, still cracking the jokes. To us he was our brother, not a celebrity, so it’s crazy to see the outpouring of love since his death was announced.”
“We just can’t believe he is gone and we won’t be getting another phone call or text from him. Every week without fail he would get in touch, either by phone or text, to ask how we were all doing and what was going on,” she added. “Of the six siblings there’s only three of us left now – me, Gillian and our brother Paul.”
Jean continued, describing Osbourne’s death as unexpected: “He was frail but it still came as a shock. He still had plans and things he wanted to do. We don’t know the details of his death, it’s still too early. It’s just so sad. I’m just thankful he died in England.”
Recalling the last time she ever saw her brother and the last text he ever sent her, Jean told The Mirror:
“We last saw him at the concert at Villa Park. I got a text off him as he drove down Lodge Road, where we used to live near the stadium. He said he couldn’t believe all the crowds were walking down our old street to watch him perform. He was blown away.
“We had an executive box in the stadium, and when I saw the sea of people waiting to see our John I just broke down.
“We didn’t really get a chance to chat much because it was such a chaotic visit. But in his last text to me he said he would be coming to Birmingham again. He said ‘I can’t wait to come back’. We were hoping to see him this week.”
Osbourne’s other sister Gillian told the publication: “We were proud as punch about him and everything he achieved. But it never went to his head. What the public saw of John was exactly what he was like in real life. It wasn’t an act.”
“He was just our John,” Jean added. “He used to make us laugh all the time. That’s what I’ll always remember.”
