"Your last hit single... I don't want to age myself, but that was over 40 years ago, the year I was born." That line came from Kelly Osbourne, aimed squarely at Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider. Rather than rebutting any of his specific claims, she went straight for the jugular by highlighting the gap in their careers—arguably the sharpest moment of the entire dust-up.
According to NME, the feud erupted on social media this week after Snider suggested Ozzy Osbourne had been "overrated" when it came to songwriting credits on both his solo albums and Black Sabbath's catalog. When a fan pointed out that Motörhead's Lemmy had co-written several tracks on Ozzy's 1991 album No More Tears—including "I Don't Want to Change the World," "Mama, I'm Coming Home," and "Hellraiser"—Snider replied, "I know too much behind-the-scenes truth for that. Let's just say Sharon isn't big on sharing credit." He was referring to Ozzy's wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne.
Another fan mentioned that bassist Bob Daisley had written "quite a bit" of Ozzy's lyrics before being fired in the early '80s, prompting Snider to escalate: "'Quite a bit'? Try all of it. Ozzy's always had his bassists write the lyrics. Geezer Butler wrote all of Black Sabbath's lyrics. Daisley wrote the lyrics for the first two solo albums (and I'm pretty sure he got paid to write for others too, just uncredited). Lemmy wrote lyrics too."
Kelly responded via Instagram Stories, initially without naming names, writing: "My father's standing as a musician, songwriter, singer, and bandleader speaks for itself." She then called out Snider directly, calling his attempt to "diminish my father Ozzy Osbourne's extraordinary talent and achievements" especially classless, particularly now that Ozzy can no longer defend himself. She went on to say that, as far as she knew, the two "may have been in the same room once, if that," questioning how Snider could possibly know anything about her father's private life.
"If Snider wants to invite comparisons of our careers," she wrote, "that comparison alone is brutal enough." She also noted that Ozzy's influence on metal will keep echoing for generations, hinting that "the industry moved past Snider's commercial peak decades ago."
Snider tried to cool things down on Friday, August 14, writing: "To be clear again, I have nothing but love for Ozzy. He's always been good to me. Black Sabbath changed my life! As a songwriter myself, I admit I'm more sensitive about credit and royalty issues." The next day, he addressed Kelly, the media, and "any other fools mixing up apples and oranges," insisting he believes "Ozzy Osbourne is a metal god, an icon, a legend, a game-changer, and a great guy—it was an honor to know him," but adding that "none of that changes who actually wrote his lyrics."
The controversy comes just months after Twisted Sister was forced to cancel its planned tour back in February, after Snider revealed he'd been battling degenerative arthritis for years. Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach is set to step in for the band's 50th-anniversary shows.
