Sharon Osborne pulled no punches when discussing Motley Crue’s movie The Dirt and how her husband’s antics were used to promote the film.
During a recent episode of The Osbournes Podcast, Sharon, flanked by Ozzy, son Jack and daughter Kelly, discussed the Prince of Darkness’ infamous ant-snorting incident.
It was 1984 and Osbourne and Motley Crue reportedly engaged in all kinds of drug and alcohol-fueled shenanigans during their tour together. At one point – legend has it – Ozzy took a straw, got down on the ground and sniffed up a line of ants.
“I was not there, thank God,” Sharon noted when asked by Jack if the notorious story was true. “I used to try and stay away from Motley when they were with Ozzy.”
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The Osbourne matriarch then expressed outrage that the incident ended up in The Dirt and, more specifically, was used in the film’s promotional campaign.
“All I know is that I think it made their movie,” Sharon noted. “And I wanna know why, now we’re on the subject, of why, when they advertise their movie on Netflix, it’s a picture of a guy imitating Ozzy. Why isn’t the ad campaign a picture of Motley Crue?”
“I know the answer to that,” Jack responded. “’Cause Ozzy Osbourne’s bigger than Motley Crue.”
That comment stirred Ozzy enough to intervene, urging his family to move on from the topic. Sharon didn’t budge, calling Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx an “asshole” and further insisting “Yes, he fucking is,” after Ozzy disagreed.
Watch the Ant Snorting Scene From ‘The Dirt’
Did Ozzy Osbourne Snort Ants?
On the family’s podcast, Ozzy insisted the ant-snorting incident was real. “I was there. I did it. My nostril,” he explained. “I was drunk and I did it.”
This echoes comments in the past when the Black Sabbath singer has repeatedly insisted the infamous story was true. Likewise, members of Motley Crue have corroborated the story, both in the film The Dirt and in the autobiography on which it was based, The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band.
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Still, others have openly questioned whether the ant snorting happened.
“I was there, and I never saw ants,” guitarist Jake E. Lee, who was playing with Osbourne on the tour, recalled in 2019.
“I was right there. He snorted a little spider. There was not a trail of fucking ants there. Tommy [Lee] says it, Nikki says it, Ozzy says it – they were fucked up. I was not. I was just trying to get a fucking suntan. That’s all I was doing. They were getting fucked up. Ozzy snorted a little tiny stupid spider that was crawling across. There was no ants — there was no fucking ants. I don’t care what the other guys say — there was no ants.”
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Gallery Credit: Ultimate Classic Rock Staff
