News | Entertainment
26 Jul 2025 10:45
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    PETA has paid an unlikely tribute to Ozzy Osbourne

    The Black Sabbath rocker, who died aged 76 on Tuesday (22.07.25), notoriously bit the head off of a bat during a concert in Iowa in 1982 but has been remembered fondly by animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals for the "gentle side" he showed to creatures after teaming up with organisation to campaign against the declawing of cats


    PETA posted on its website and social media channels: "Ozzy Osbourne was a legend and a provocateur, but PETA will remember the 'Prince of Darkness' most fondly for the gentle side he showed to animals - most recently cats, by using his fame to decry painful, crippling declawing mutilations.

    "Ozzy may have been the singer, but his wife, Sharon, and their daughter, Kelly, were of one voice when it meant protecting animals.

    "Ozzy will be missed by animal advocates the world over."

    The Crazy Train artist joined forces with PETA in 2020 to speak out on the declawing of felines and featured in an advertising campaign feature his bloodied hands with the tagline: "It's an amputation. Not a manicure."

    Ozzy said at the time: "Amputating a cat's toes is twisted and wrong. If your couch is more important to you than your cat's health and happiness, you don't deserve to have an animal! Get cats a scratching post - don't mutilate them for life."

    The rocker claimed in his 2010 autobiography I Am Ozzy that he chomped down on the bat's head as he was convinced that it was just a rubber toy throw on stage by a rowdy audience during his Diary of a Madman Tour.

    Osbourne wrote: "Immediately, though, something felt wrong. Very wrong. For a start my mouth was instantly full of this warm, gloopy liquid. Then the head in my mouth twitched.

    "Somebody threw a bat. I just thought it was a rubber bat. And I picked it up and put it in my mouth. I bit into it.

    "Oh no, it's real. It was a real live bat."

    However, Ozzy told the BBC in 2006 that the bat wasn't alive when it was thrown on stage.

    He recalled: "This bat comes on. I thought it was one of them Halloween joke bats because it had some string around its neck.

    "I bite into it, and I look to my left and Sharon was going (gesturing no).

    "And I'm like, what you talking about? She (says), 'It's a real dead bat.' And I'm... I know now!"

    © 2025 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     26 Jul: Sacha Baron Cohen insists he was "only joking" when he claimed to have used Ozempic to help achieve his new muscular physique for a Marvel role
     26 Jul: Hulk Hogan spent the last two years of his life fully embracing his Christian faith
     26 Jul: Wendy Williams' birthday wish is to be released from her court-ordered guardianship and return to work
     26 Jul: Hulk Hogan's ex-wife Linda Hogan gushed about sharing "good old days" with the wrestling icon days before his death
     26 Jul: Chuck Mangione, the legendary jazz musician behind the international hit single Feels So Good, has died aged 84
     26 Jul: Amy Winehouse's parents have reunited to pay tribute to the singer 14 years after her death
     26 Jul: Jessica Simpson is ready to start dating again
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Ruahei Demant is relishing the prospect of leading the Black Ferns into their Rugby World Cup title defence in England next month More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    The South Island appears to be charting a faster road to economy recovery than the North Island More...



     Today's News

    Business:
    The South Island appears to be charting a faster road to economy recovery than the North Island 10:26

    Politics:
    General practice owners say they're delighted about changes to the funding systems 10:26

    Entertainment:
    Sacha Baron Cohen insists he was "only joking" when he claimed to have used Ozempic to help achieve his new muscular physique for a Marvel role 10:22

    International:
    Tour de France Femmes 2025 hopes to recapture spell-binding 2024 edition, and continue to grow women's cycling from 'ugly' past 10:06

    Auckland:
    A person's been found dead in water near Whangaparaoa, north of Auckland 10:06

    Rugby:
    Ruahei Demant is relishing the prospect of leading the Black Ferns into their Rugby World Cup title defence in England next month 9:56

    Entertainment:
    Hulk Hogan spent the last two years of his life fully embracing his Christian faith 9:52

    Entertainment:
    Wendy Williams' birthday wish is to be released from her court-ordered guardianship and return to work 9:22

    Entertainment:
    Hulk Hogan's ex-wife Linda Hogan gushed about sharing "good old days" with the wrestling icon days before his death 8:52

    International:
    How Hulk Hogan weathered wrestling fame and racist scandal to become a right-wing mouthpiece 8:46


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd