Ozzy Osbourne’s wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne, is threatening legal action against Kanye West over his unauthorized sampling of a performance of “Iron Man” on his new album.
Ozzy first brought infringement to light in a social media post on Friday, saying that he refused to let West sample a live version of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” because the rapper is “an antisemite and has caused untold heartache to many.”
Now, Sharon has chimed in, telling TMZ that, “Kanye fucked with the wrong Jew this time.” She said that the couple has already sent West’s team a cease and desist and will pursue further legal action if he continues to use the sample.
Sharon’s late father, music manager Don Arden, was Jewish, and she has said that she identifies as Jewish.
In a separate interview with Billboard, Sharon said, “We get so many requests for these songs, and when we saw that request, we just said no way.”
“The simple thing is, we don’t want to be associated with a hater,” Osbourne added. “To spread hate the way he does, it shouldn’t be allowed. All the excuses – he’s bipolar or whatever – doesn’t change that. It’s like, fuck you, basically.”
Sharon claims that West’s camp first reached out to her about sample clearance three weeks ago, and she and Ozzy said, “absolutely not.” West apparently disregarded their rejection, however, as he played a song featuring a sample of Ozzy performing “Iron Man” during a listening party hosted in Chicago on Thursday night.
Throughout 2022, West made a series of antisemitic comments and promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories. As a result, he lost over a billion dollars in net worth and lucrative brand partnerships with GAP, adidas, and Balenciaga. He’s also without a record contract, was dropped by his talent agency, and saw a string of planned concerts canceled. The Anti Defamation League later released a report asserting that at least 30 hate incidents could be directly linked to West’s comments.
Meanwhile, Sharon Osbourne exited the daytime TV show The Talk in 2021 after she was accused of racial insensitivity. She has denied the accusations.
