Remembering Ozzy Osbourne’s Jewish vow renewal
The Prince of Darkness was reluctant to have a rabbi officiate — until he was offered wine
Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon share a kiss in 1985. Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images
By PJ Grisar July 22, 2025
Ozzy Osbourne, the foul-mouthed frontman of Black Sabbath who rebranded as a reality TV star, has died at 76, just weeks after his farewell concert. On Dec. 31, 2002, he renewed his vows in a Jewish ceremony on an episode of The Osbournes.
In the Season 2 episode “My Big Fat Jewish Wedding,” the Prince of Darkness was characteristically befuddled by the plans of his wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne, to have a “Jewish rabbi” officiate the ritual on New Year’s Eve.
“I’m not Jewish,” Ozzy told the camera crew in the episode. “My wife’s got crucifixes coming out of her ass.”
But Sharon’s father, music manager Don Arden, was Jewish (and on the episode is briefly seen singing “Vhy don’t you give a Yiddishe boy a chance”). Despite her daughter Kelly’s insistence that Judaism was passed on matrilineally, Sharon stated that she felt more Jewish than anything. To rest her case, she claims, “excuse me, but my husband is circumcised.”
Even though Ozzy devoted an estimated $8 million to make the Osbourne domicile look like “the small Vatican in Beverly Hills,” the “Paranoid” singer goes through with the ceremony.
Osbourne was nervous in the beginning, but once the rabbi came out with a kiddush cup, saying “in Judaism wine is a symbol of joy,” he perked up and said, “I like this guy.”
The two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, whose band name darkly derives from a twisted version of the Jewish day of rest (and a Boris Karloff film), had many documented affairs. But he was ultimately committed to his wife — and her people. (The Osbournes renewed their vows again, on Mother’s Day 2017, reconciling after Ozzy was discovered cheating.)
Osbourne brought his summer festival Ozzfest to Israel in 2010. Sharon has been outspoken about antisemitism and Israel, recently calling for the Irish band Kneecap to lose their U.S. visas following an anti-Israel performance at Coachella.
In February 2024, Osbourne posted to X that he denied Ye (formerly Kanye West) permission to sample a performance of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man,” because he “IS AN ANTISEMITE AND HAS CAUSED UNTOLD HEARTACHE TO MANY.”
While Black Sabbath claims the song “Iron Man” was not inspired by the superhero created by Jewish comic editor Stan Lee, his brother Larry Lieber and artist Jack Kirby, the song did conclude 2008’s film of the Marvel hero, evidently with Osbourne’s blessing.
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