February 11, 2024
Ozzy Osbourne Blasts Kanye West’s Sampling Of Black Sabbath, Issues Cease-And-Desist Order
West played the sample at an album release party on Feb. 8, despite allegedly not receiving Osbourne’s permission to use the sample.
Rock star and former Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne says he denied Kanye West permission to use a live recording of the group’s song “Iron Man” played at the U.S. Festival in 1983. As The Hill reported, Osbourne claimed on Twitter/X that his denial of West’s request to sample the song was driven by the rapper’s history of antisemitic remarks.
Osbourne wrote, “KANYE WEST ASKED PERMISSION TO SAMPLE A SECTION OF A 1983 LIVE PERFORMANCE OF ‘IRON MAN’ FROM THE US FESTIVAL WITHOUT VOCALS & WAS REFUSED PERMISSION BECAUSE HE IS AN ANTISEMITE AND HAS CAUSED UNTOLD HEARTACHE TO MANY.” Osbourne made his point even clearer, writing, “HE WENT AHEAD AND USED THE SAMPLE ANYWAY AT HIS ALBUM LISTENING PARTY LAST NIGHT. I WANT NO ASSOCIATION WITH THIS MAN!”
Osbourne went on to send West a cease-and-desist order.
West played the sample at an album release party on Feb. 8, despite allegedly not receiving Osbourne’s permission to use the sample. According to a report from Page Six, Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy’s wife, said that “Kanye f—ked with the wrong Jew this time.” She added that Black Sabbath normally accepts requests for samples, but claimed Black Sabbath had a “special f—king occasion to say no” to Ye.
West has had very public instances of antisemitism, which cost the rapper numerous partnerships, such as when Adidas halted production of his popular Yeezy line.
West’s history of antisemitic remarks also prompted controversial talk show host Bill Maher not to air an interview he recorded with Ye during an appearance on Maher’s podcast, citing the rapper’s history of antisemitism.
“The problem, I think, is that he appeals mostly—of course he’s a rock star—to young people,” Maher told TMZ, according to Variety. “They don’t know much and they surely don’t know much about the Middle East or Jews. So the combination of Kanye out there — I feel like he was helpful for spreading the fertilizer, and I do mean fertilizer, for this idea that Israel and the Jews are the worst people in the world.”
“We were here for two hours,” he added. “By the way, we had an amazing, fun time. He’s a very charming antisemite. And by the way, he’s not the only one in America who feels that way. It’s not like the Jews are universally loved except for Kanye West. He’s a very charming antisemite. I’m not going to contribute to this.”
In an effort to counteract the damage, West issued an apology on Instagram in December written in Hebrew followed up by a 40-minute apology in January.
In the social media post, he wrote, “I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for any unintended outburst caused by my words or actions, it was not my intention to hurt or disrespect, and I deeply regret any pain I may have caused,” read West’s message, translated from Hebrew. “I am committed to starting with myself and learning from this experience to ensure greater sensitivity and understanding in the future.”
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