Sharon Osbourne has come out swinging against critics who’ve branded the family’s planned AI avatar of Ozzy Osbourne a cynical cash-in, insisting the project is about preserving her late husband’s legacy, not profiting from it.
The subject came up in a new Metal Hammer interview, in which Sharon discussed several ventures tied to the metal icon, who died in 2025. Regarding the backlash surrounding the digital recreation of Ozzy, she didn’t mince words:
“I’ve seen such s**t online about it being a ‘money grab’. Why would I need to do that? It’s not as if I’m using Ozzy to sell f**king weedkiller or beer. Ozzy loved the idea. We’ve been talking about it for 10 years. Ozzy has this great body of work that took a lifetime to do – why shouldn’t he still be seen?”
She continued: “Why should we have to watch the same videos over and over again, when there’s technology available that means we don’t have to? If you don’t like it, don’t go see it. I’m not at people’s houses with a f**king gun, going, ‘Give me your money!”
The venture she’s defending was unveiled back in May at Licensing Expo in Las Vegas, where Sharon and her son Jack Osbourne revealed plans for a life-size, interactive digital version of Ozzy. Built through a partnership between digital-human company Hyperreal, using its Digital DNA process, and Proto Hologram, the avatar is set to appear in the firm’s Proto Luma “holoportation” units in the U.K. and U.S., allowing fans to interact with a lifelike, conversational Ozzy in real time.
As Sharon explained at the reveal: “The things that you can do with that are just endless. You can ask Ozzy anything, and he will answer you in his own voice — and the answers will be what Ozzy would have said. We’re going to take it all around the world. People can talk to him and he will talk back.”
The response, however, has been sharply divided. While some fans have embraced the idea of keeping Ozzy‘s presence alive, others have condemned it as disrespectful or voiced unease about a beloved figure who died so recently being recreated by AI, and about how his likeness might be used commercially down the line.
Jack has also stepped up to defend the project against the criticism, stressing that the family is handling it carefully. “Here’s the thing: it’s gonna be so tasteful what we’re doing. It’s not gonna be f**king lame… And it’s really complex what we’re doing. This isn’t just like hooking up an image of my dad to ChatGPT. This is going to be… Yeah. This is some high-level technology that we’re gonna be working with, and it’s gonna feel very real, and it’s kind of wild how it will be utilized. But it’s awesome. It’s really cool, and it’s something that I think my dad would be into. ‘Cause we actually talked about it before he passed, about doing something like this. So, yeah. I know he would be into this,” he said during a livestream earlier in May.
During the recent episode of “The Osbournes” podcast, Sharon and Jack defended the project again with Jack saying: “What we’re doing — this isn’t, and I’ve said it, this isn’t ChatGPT with dad’s face on it. It’s a closed A.I., so it’s not connected to the Internet. We build a database, and I cannot emphasize enough is that this is only information that either my dad said or was accurate, or was written accurately about him.”
Sharon fired back: “Why go on a jet when there’s a propeller? What are you doing? Well, you know what? Technology moves on, and I’m sorry for those people. I’m not asking you to come. I don’t want your f**king money. I don’t need your f**king money. I’m doing very well, actually, and I always have my entire life… And the thing is, for somebody to turn around to me and say I’m doing a cash grab — no, you don’t know my husband, okay? I know my husband, and my husband would say to me over and over, ‘After I go, how long do you think I’ll be remembered? How long do you think?’ And I’d go, ‘I just don’t know, ’cause I’ll be probably going with you, so don’t ask me.’ But the thing was, for 10 years we have been exploring it. And the thing is I don’t have to justify why we do to any f**ker. I don’t have to justify. What do they think we’re gonna do? I’m gonna hock my husband around selling Weed Killer on an ad or selling cigarettes or beer? Do you think I’m gonna do that? … And we’re moving with the times… It’s like saying, Why do you need a CD when you have a vinyl record?’ You move with the times. And this is great technology, and I’m not gonna let anyone bastardize my husband.”
The family stressed that retaining absolute control over the digital rights is paramount to protecting the singer’s image.
Jack noted: “The most important thing for me is that when we create this digital imprint of Dad, we create it, we own it, we control it. And it’s something that…”
Sharon chimed in to finish his thought: “…we’ll pass on through our family. And it’s for our grandkids. And that’s it, and I don’t have to justify anything to any f**ker out there.”
Pushing back against the financial criticisms, Jack pointed out that while the entertainment industry is a business, the primary goal is legacy preservation without sacrificing control to unpredictable technology.
Jack stated: “And at the end of the day, if keeping Dad alive and accessible to a fan is cash grab, then f**king guilty as charged because at the end of the day, entertainment and the industry that we’re in, none of this is for f**king charity… But the technology that we are utilizing, it is not Claude or ChatGPT that you can ask it any question about anything. It’s a closed A.I. module that is not connected to the Internet.”
Addressing safety concerns regarding artificial intelligence, Jack added: “Someone said, ‘Oh, it’s dangerous. You can’t control it,’ and I was, like ‘What the f**k do you think this is, Terminator? It’s gonna go sentient and next thing you know Ozzy‘s gonna launch the nukes? But I think, for me, it’s not about pretending he’s still alive. For me it’s about making sure he’s never forgotten.”
The avatar is only one of several Ozzy-related projects Sharon touched on. She confirmed that the revival of Ozzfest is still on track, with an announcement expected soon as bookings continue to fall into place, and reiterated that the festival is set to return at Villa Park in Birmingham, with potential U.S. dates to follow. She also offered an update on the “Back To The Beginning” concert film, the theatrical document of the all-star farewell show that served as Ozzy and Black Sabbath‘s final send-off, saying it’s expected to arrive later this year.
