Ozzy Says Sharon Osbourne Will Decide Whether or Not Bill Ward Returns to Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath fans were pretty upset when drummer Bill Ward wasn’t included in the band’s reunion last year — I mean, they’re weren’t so upset that they didn’t buy the band’s new album, 13, or skip the band’s concerts, but upset enough to tweet about it at least! And the tone of those tweets went from upset to angry when a rumor that Sharon Osbourne was responsible for Ward’s firing started making its way around the web. In fact, there were enough angry tweets that Ms. Osbourne felt compelled to send out a tweet of her own:
But I guess Ozzy Osbourne never saw that tweet, or otherwise completely forgot about the party line (which is entirely possible). Because when Billboard recently asked him about the possibility of Ward returning for the band’s next (and allegedly really finally final for really real) album and tour, The Ozzman said this:
“I would absolutely love that. We all would. We were all sad he didn’t come the last time. But I don’t deal with the dough and the business side; that’s my wife’s job. The thing is, when you’ve got four guys with four different agendas and managers, it gets pretty crazy. I just go, ‘You do what you’ve got to do, Sharon. I’ll do what I’ve got to do.’”
Which basically confirms what the right honorable Mr. Vincent Neilstein, Esq. said when he first covered the Sharon rumor in February of 2012:
“[Sharon’s] response does not address Bill Ward’s claim that he wasn’t offered a fair contract. My take on the whole thing is that his contract offer was so shitty it basically amounted to forcing him out the door, so while Sharon can accurately claim that she didn’t ‘fire’ Ward, I’m highly, highly, highly, HIGHLY doubtful that Sharon had nothing to do with said shitty contract offer. I’m positive she’s intimately involved in these dealings; she manages Ozzy, and Ozzy is a member of Black Sabbath.”
In other words, while Sharon is technically telling the truth — she cannot and did not fire Bill Ward — she most certainly did have a hand in fucking Ward over.
Which doesn’t mean that Ozzy and the other members of Sabbath aren’t culpable. If they really, truly gave a shit about Ward, they could instruct their managers to offer him a fairer deal, even if it meant they all made less money (which would probably still be more than most of us ever make in a lifetime).
So under the bus Sharon goes. Sure, the fans will be upset — but not so upset that they don’t buy the band’s new album or skip the band’s concerts.
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