Ozzy Osbourne once said, “Of all the things I’ve lost, I miss my mind the most.” Those who were directly affected by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, probably miss family members, friends, and colleagues who were killed in New York City, Washington DC., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
And they’ll probably take issue with comments the 65-year-old Black Sabbath singer made this week to Shortlist.
Speaking of the 9/11 attacks, Osbourne says he wasn’t scared about what was unfolding, but rather “excited” by it. He then called the tragedy “my kind of craziness.”
Osbourne recounts the day where he was supposed to meet President George W. Bush, but wasn’t intimidated by the destruction of the World Trade Center. He added: “I remember standing on the steps of the hotel. You know when you see an old cowboy film and tumbleweed rolls past on the ground? There were newspapers just floating around on the streets. It was so fucking weird. Everybody just backed off Manhattan because they didn’t know if it was an all-out thing or what.”
Here’s a snippet of his chat with Shortlist. It’s safe to say Ozzy is now officially bat-shit crazy.
You have been guest of honour at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where you were introduced by then-president George W Bush…
Yeah – he was a c*nt. I was f*cking faced at that dinner. I’d had three bottles of wine before I went in there. Sharon was going f*cking nuts at me.
Did you talk to Bush?
No. I mean, no one would come near me because I was off me f*cking nuts. I’ve met him, I’ve met Bill Clinton, I’ve met loads of them. But they’re very strange people. Hillary Clinton was wonderful, a very nice lady. George Bush, I never quite got his deal. The thing is, I don’t suppose he expected World War 3 to begin when he got voted in, did he? It was a bit of a shocker, a kick in the pants. He hadn’t been in office more than five minutes and 9/11 went down. We were in New York when that happened!
That must have been frightening…
I wasn’t scared, I was excited! It was my kind of craziness, y’know. The day after that happened, there was f*cking nobody in New York. I remember standing on the steps of the hotel, and – you know when you see an old cowboy film and that tumbleweed rolls past on the ground? There was newspapers just floating around on the streets. It was so f*cking weird. Everybody just backed off Manhattan because they didn’t know if it was an all-out thing or what. But I hope this Isis lot don’t get going. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s in mankind to try to kill each other for one thing or another. And I think sooner or later one of these crazy f*ckers is going to get a nuclear weapon or some f*cking thing, and f*ck a lot of people up. That’s in our nature. I hope it won’t happen, but it looks like it could happen if they get it.
A new and final Black Sabbath album, produced by Rick Rubin, is reportedly in the works.