Kelly Osbourne Bashes ‘Spectacularly Classless’ Dee Snider For ‘Diminishing’ Ozzy’s Lyrical Contributions to Solo, Sabbath Albums

A wicked war of words has erupted between Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider and Kelly Osbourne, daughter of late heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne . The rift opened up on Wednesday (Aug. 12) after Snider made some controversial comments about Ozzy’s alleged songwriting contributions to his solo songs and those of Black Sabbath, suggesting that the late Prince of Darkness was not as involved in the process as credits would seem to suggest.

When a fan brought up late Motorhead bassist/singer Lemmy’s songwriting and musical contributions to Ozzy’s 1991 No More Tears album — on which he is credited with co-writing a number of songs, including “I Don’t Want to Change the World,” “Mama, I’m Coming Home,” the title track and “Hellraiser,” as noted in Ozzy’s 2025 Last Rites memoir — Snider wrote, “I know too much about the truth behind the scenes. Let’s just say that [Osbourne’s wife and longtime manager] Sharon doesn’t like to share .”

When someone later noted that bassist Bob Daisley, wrote a “load” for Ozzy before being fired in the early 1980s, Snider responded, “A load? How about ALL the lyrics ? Ozzy always had bass players write his lyrics. [Black Sabbath bassist] @geezerbutler wrote ALL of @BlackSabbath lyrics. Daisley wrote lyrics for the first two solo albums (I’m pretty sure he was paid to write on other records but not credited) & Lemmy wrote lyrics.”

The back-and-forth spilled over into Thursday (Aug. 13) when a fan wrote that they love a “frontman who doesn’t write his songs, but has such a way to bring them to the people,” to which Snider responded, “ Many singers don’t write their own songs but make them their own.”

As you can imagine, Ozzy’s daughter, Kelly Osbourne, had plenty to say about Snider’s comments, which came just over a year after Ozzy’s shock death at 76 on July 22, 2025. In a since-expired Instagram Story, without naming Snider, Kelly wrote, “My father’s legacy as a musician, songwriter, singer and bandleader speaks for itself. His friends, those who worked with him, those who loved him and millions of fans around the world that still continue to buy his records know exactly what he meant, what he contributed and what he leaves behind. His legacy will live on eternally.”

Kelly followed up with a lengthier, more pointed post , in which she took more direct aim at Snider’s comments. “@deesnider your last hit … not to age myself was the year I was born over 40 years ago,” she said about the makeup-wearing singer’s last major chart hit, his band’s signature anti-authority anthem, 1984’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” which topped out at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 that year.

“There’s something spectacularly classless about Dee Snider trying to diminish my father Ozzy Osbourne and his extraordinary abilities and achievements when he’s no longer here to challenge his allegations, particularly when Snider cannot claim to know the private reality of my father’s life simply by looking in from the outside or from hearsay from a delusional man with a vendetta against my father, when to the best of my knowledge they were maybe in the same room once if even at all,” Osbourne continued.

“And if Snider wants to invite comparisons between their careers, that comparison is devastating enough on its own,” she added. “Snider had a brief period of mainstream success 40 years ago. My father’s career spanned nearly six decades – from helping define heavy metal with Black Sabbath to building an extraordinary solo career. His music will continue to influence generations long after all of us are gone. It’s difficult not to wonder whether Snider’s attempt to belittle my father is simply a way of getting people talking about him again. Because musically, the music industry moved on from Snider’s commercial peak decades ago, while my father’s name, catalogue and influence still remains globally relevant.”

Osbourne said that her late father “doesn’t need Dee Snider’s approval” to establish his place in music history, and “trying to make my father smaller won’t make Dee Snider bigger. It only reminds everyone of the enormous difference between their legacies and further proves just how irrelevant Snider is to the music industry and society as a whole. However, I would like to thank Dee Snider for allowing the world to see how truly desperate he really is!”

At press time, spokespeople for Osbourne and Snider had not returned Billboard ‘s request for comment and Billboard was unable to independently confirm Snider’s claims about Osbourne’s songwriting.

Snider, who has a proclivity for opining on X about other bands and music history from his unique half-century-in-the-biz perspective, tried to clear the air on Friday (Aug. 14) once the heated back-and-forth began getting attention online, writing, “And again. To be clear, I HAVE NOTHING BUT LOVE FOR OZZY . He was always lovely to me. @BlackSabbath changed my life! As a songwriter I can be a little touchy about credit and royalties.”

Snider resigned from his position as Twisted Sister’s lead singer earlier this year citing ongoing “health issues” and will be replaced by Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach on the band’s upcoming 50th anniversary run of shows. Snider, 70, suffers from degenerative arthritis, which has required multiple operations, as well as heart issues exacerbated by life on the road.

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Billboard. Open at source →