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Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Entertainment
Metal Hammer

"You are a disrespectful dirtbag!" Kelly Osbourne furiously fires back at WWE and Becky Lynch following controversial Ozzy Osbourne promo line in Birmingham

Kelly Osbourne and Becky Lynch (Becky is in a wrestling ring holding a WWE title).

Kelly Osbourne has fired back at wrestling giant WWE after the company aired a segment last night (Monday August 25) that included a controversial reference to her father Ozzy, who died last month aged 76.

During the segment, broadcast as part of the company's flagship show, Monday Night Raw, Becky Lynch, the WWE's reigning Women's Intercontinental Champion, made a classic 'heel' (IE: villain) move by insulting the city the show was broadcasting from - Birmingham, England.

"I am not wrestling in Birmingham," she started while addressing rival Nikki Bella, before going on to make a comment about Ozzy Osbourne, a famed Brummie native, that didn't appear to go down well with the crowd.

"Yeah, the only good thing that came out of here died a month ago," she said to a seemingly shocked reaction, adding: "but in fairness to Ozzy Osbourne, he had the good sense to move to LA, a proper city. Because if I lived in Birmingham I'd die too."

The promo has sparked some controversy on social media, with many fans arguing that the Ozzy lines were a step too far so soon after the metal legend's passing.

It's a sentiment clearly shared by Kelly Osbourne, who has since posted on Instagram:

"Becky Lynch you are a disrespectful dirtbag! Birmingham would not piss on you if you were on fire."

Kelly then adds the hashtag #birminghamforever before finishing: "shame on the WWE for allowing such things to be said about my father and his home!"

Ozzy Osbourne's death just over two weeks after his final performance at Black Sabbath's Back To The Beginning show shocked the world, with everyone from the Royal Family to The Muppets paying tribute.

Ozzy actually had a decades-long relationship with WWE, having appeared at Wrestlemania 2 in 1986 as a special guest manager for British tag team the British Bulldogs. He also appeared alongside wife Sharon as guest hosts of Monday Night Raw in 2009, and performed a special promo video singing Black Sabbath classic War Pigs for WWE Survivor Series in 2022.

Becky Lynch, meanwhile, is a life long rock and metal fan in real life. "I guess I’m a big grunge-head!" she told Metal Hammer in 2015. "Pearl Jam are my favourite band of all time. I’m a big Stone Temple Pilots fan. Mother Love Bone, Soundgarden… my brother always listened to Nirvana when I was younger, so I think that’s what got me started.

"But then I discovered Pearl Jam, and I was hanging out with other [rock kids] at Temple Bar in Dublin, and there I started getting into all these other bands I’d never heard of. There was Korn, Pantera, Machine HeadFrom This Day is one of my favourite songs of all time."

(Image credit: Kelly Osbourne (via Instagram))
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