US mass shootings drive Ozzy Osbourne home to England
“I don’t want to die in America,” the aging rocker said
Rock legend Ozzy Osbourne has said that the “f**king ridiculous” number of mass shootings motivated him to leave the US and return to his native England. However, the 73-year-old’s ill health and rising taxes in the US could also have influenced the upcoming move.
In an interview with The Observer, published on Sunday, the ‘Prince of Darkness’ said that he plans on returning to England with his wife Sharon early next year. The couple’s Los Angeles mansion is currently on the market, and the pair are renovating their stately home in Buckinghamshire in preparation for the move.
“Everything’s f**king ridiculous there,” Osbourne said of the US. “I’m fed up with people getting killed every day. God knows how many people have been shot in school shootings. And there was that mass shooting in Vegas at that concert… It’s f**king crazy.”
2021 was the worst year on record for mass shootings in the US, with 2022 on track to raise the bar again, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive (GVA). However, different organizations use different methods to classify a “mass shooting,” and the per capita firearms murder rate has fallen in the US since 1974.
“I don’t want to die in America,” Osbourne continued. “I don’t want to be buried in f**king Forest Lawn,” he said, referring to the Los Angeles cemetery where Hollywood stars Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor and Humphrey Bogart are interred.
Osbourne is also struggling with a litany of health complaints, including Parkinson’s disease and nerve pain as a result of spinal surgery in 2019. Bouts with cancer and pneumonia, a near-fatal quad bike accident in 2018, and decades of drug and alcohol abuse have all taken their toll on the former ‘Black Sabbath’ frontman’s health too.
Despite Osbourne’s health impeding his ability to travel and perform, his wife, Sharon, told The Observer that their upcoming relocation has nothing to do with his health.
“America has changed so drastically,” she said. “It isn’t the United States of America at all. Nothing’s united about it. It’s a very weird place to live right now.”
Financial factors may also be playing a part in the decision. While the Osbournes are worth an estimated $220 million, Ozzy told The Mirror earlier this year that “the tax is getting too much” for the family to stay in California.
“We are leaving LA. We are a bit sad,” he said at the time, adding “if they do the taxes better then I may come back.”
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