Fact Check: Did Ozzy Osbourne break pro-Palestine boycott to perform in Israel last year?

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: A rumor has been going around that rock legend Ozzy Osbourne broke a pro-Palestinian boycott to perform in Israel in 2024.

The Prince of Darkness tragically died on Tuesday, July 22, at 76. But barely a few hours had passed before the rumor mill started spinning.

A viral post on X declared, “BREAKING: Hardcore Zionist Ozzy Osbourne broke the boycott to perform in Israel in 2024 and urged other artists to do the same, whilst 1000s of children were being massacred. Anyway, he died today.”

It racked up more than 612,000 views, over 11,000 likes, and sparked similar copycat claims across the platform.

Fact Check: False

Ozzy did not perform in Israel last year — or anywhere else, for that matter. If the Prince of Darkness had pulled off a surprise concert in Tel Aviv during one of the most controversial years in recent geopolitical history, it would’ve been all over the news and social media. But that didn't happen, Snopes confirmed.

No trace of such a concert exists on Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo. Meanwhile, Setlist.fm also lists no such event. Ozzy’s official website also has no details of such a performance, just echoes of gigs long gone.

What did happen in 2024 was that Ozzy attended the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. He didn't even perform and just made a suited-up appearance.

Notably, Ozzy’s last proper show came just a few weeks before his death on July 5 at the “Back to the Beginning” farewell concert in Birmingham. He performed seated due to his well-documented health struggles. That night also featured a tearjerking Black Sabbath reunion at Villa Park, just down the road from where the band first formed in 1968.

“It was so good to be on this stage,” Ozzy told the roaring hometown crowd in his final bow.

It's worth noting that Ozzy has rocked Israeli stages twice before. The first was on September 28, 2010, during Ozzfest in Tel Aviv’s HaYarkon Park. Then again, on July 8, 2018, during his “No More Tours 2” farewell tour in Rishon Lezion. But there have been no performances there after those.

In February 2023, the metal icon officially announced he was retiring from touring, citing ongoing medical issues. Last January, his wife and longtime manager, Sharon Osbourne, confirmed to Rolling Stone UK that while Ozzy wouldn’t hit the road again, they were cooking up two final shows in Birmingham.

Ozzy Osbourne did speak out in other ways

While he didn’t perform, Osbourne did make headlines in 2024 for calling out antisemitism. In February that year, he publicly blasted rapper Ye (aka Kanye West), who had tried to sample Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” without permission.

Ozzy posted on X, "@KANYEWEST 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.

"HE WENT AHEAD AND USED THE SAMPLE ANYWAY AT HIS ALBUM LISTENING PARTY LAST NIGHT. I WANT NO ASSOCIATION WITH THIS MAN!" he added.

Then, in March, Ozzy and Sharon signed an open letter with over 200 big names in entertainment and business demanding an independent inquiry into the BBC’s handling of its Gaza documentary, 'How to Survive a Warzone.'

The letter called out the broadcaster for having “a systemic problem of bias against Israel.”

So while Ozzy wasn’t performing gigs last year, he wasn’t exactly silent either.

The passing of a rock legend

Just weeks before his death, Ozzy gave fans what they’d been praying for—a final goodbye with the band that started it all. His reunion with Black Sabbath at Villa Park was the stuff of dreams for heavy metal fans across the globe. The rocker gave it his all, despite his ailing health.

“It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away [on Tuesday morning, 22 July]. He was with his family and surrounded by love,” read a heartbreaking family statement from Sharon and their children after his passing.

Tributes poured in from across the globe.

They were led by British rocker Yungblud, who had shared the stage with him for his final act. Elton John, Metallica, Ronnie Wood, Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, and 'Aquaman' Jason Momoa paid their respects. Kiss frontman Gene Simmons got “choked up” while remembering the metal icon live on BBC Breakfast.

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