Ozzy Osbourne says that his former Black Sabbath bandmate Geezer Butler hasn’t reached out to him as he’s battled various health issues over the years, though the bassist insists that he’s tried to make contact.
Speaking with Rolling Stone UK, which recently honored the Prince of Darkness with its inaugural Icon Award, Ozzy shares, “You do find out who’s a genuine friend when you’ve been through what I’ve had … Geezer Butler hasn’t given me one f****** phone call. Not one f****** call.”
Ozzy notes that he even heard from ex-Sabbath drummer Bill Ward, who acrimoniously parted ways with the band shortly after their 2011 reunion.
“I said some things about Bill, and I don’t know why I said it, but when I came through my illness, he contacted me,” Ozzy says.
“I’m not in shock, I’m just very f****** sad that [Butler] can’t just call me after all this time and say, ‘How you doing?"” he adds. “F****** a*******.”
After the interview was published, Butler took to Instagram to refute Ozzy’s comments.
“Rumour has it; Ozzy is upset, saying he never received my get well messages,” Butler writes. “I made 2 different attempts at getting in touch during his illnesses.”
Butler says he reached out in February 2019 and January 2020, both times through Ozzy’s wife, Sharon Osbourne.
“I don’t want to engage in a tit for tat,” Butler says. “Having made 2 attempts to wish Ozzy well, without a reply, I figured it best to privately keep him in my thoughts.”
Elsewhere in the Rolling Stone UK interview, Ozzy talks about his retirement from touring.
“I’m taking it one day at a time, and if I can perform again, I will,” he says. “But it’s been like saying farewell to the best relationship of my life.”
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