Ozzy Osbourne passed away just 17 days after reuniting with Black Sabbath for his “Back to the Beginning” farewell concert in July 2025.
Now, the late rocker’s wife, Sharon Osbourne, is revealing that he was warned by multiple medical professionals that the exertion of performing would almost certainly bring about his death, a prediction that proved sadly true.
Doctors Warned Performing ‘Would Kill Him’
Inteviewed by Rolling Stone, Sharon revealed that Ozzy had been seen by six different medical professionals — all 0f whom advised him against performing, given the serious ailments he was experiencing prior to his passing.
“They advised us not to do the show. They said it would kill him,” Sharon said, revealing that Ozzy had spent the week leading up to the show in a hospital.
“We were all together and Ozzy said, ‘It’s not an option. It’s what I want,’” she recalled.
According to Sharon, Ozzy was fully aware of the risk he was taking — but insisted on taking to the stage one final time.
“He said, ‘I know I’m dying. If I miss a few months of my life, I want to go this way. This is what I want,’” she recounted.
“It was his wishes and we went through it,” Sharon added. “He said to me, ‘Another six months, what’s it going to do for me?’”
‘He Went Out Like a Viking’
As Sharon remembered, her late husband became “very, very emotional” in the days prior to the performance, held in his hometown of Birmingham, England (the show will be coming to theaters on October 28 as a feature film, “Ozzy & Black Sabbath: Back to the Beginning”).
Looking back, she admitted she can now see that his instincts were correct.
“But you know what? It was beautiful too,” she shared.
“It was amazing. How lucky was he to go out that way? I say he went out like a Viking. It was the way he wanted,” she added.
“Ozzy always used to say, ‘I’m one lucky [expletive]. Who else has had my life? I got everything I dreamed about.’ He had no regrets about anything. He knew what his destiny was. He chose it,” she observed.
‘It’s Not Sad’
That final performance was Ozzy’s first time onstage in nearly seven years, due to his battle with Parkinson’s disease impacting his ability to walk, and even stand up for extended periods.
Meanwhile, he was also dealing with multiple other health issues, and Sharon still marvels that he was able to make it to the stage at all, let alone sing with the gusto that he did.
“We’re talking about a guy that had hardly any lungs left,” Sharon explained. “He had emphysema. I don’t know how he did it. But he did it, and it’s what he wanted. And in that way it’s glorious. It’s not sad.”
Ultimately, she’ll remember that farewell show as “a triumph” that allowed Ozzy “to be surrounded” by old friends and family members while 40,000 fans cheered him on.
In fact, the experience buoyed his spirits during his final days.
“He just kept saying, ‘I did it. I did it.’ The next 17 days, he was so, so happy,” Sharon recalled. “He was just elated. He just couldn’t believe how everybody turned out for him. It was glorious to see how happy he was, because he’d been so depressed, so down.”
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Ozzy Osbourne Insisted on Performing After Doctors Warned His Farewell Concert Would Be Fatal