Kelly Osbourne, 41, unloaded on Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, 71, in a blistering Instagram Story takedown Friday after he questioned her late father’s songwriting legacy.
The TV personality took to her Instagram Story to directly address Snider, whom she called “spectacularly classless” and “irrelevant” in a scathing defense of Ozzy Osbourne. Her posts came after Snider took to X earlier in the week to suggest the Black Sabbath frontman “always” had others write “all” his songs for him, cryptically adding that Ozzy’s widow, Sharon Osbourne, “doesn’t like to share.”
Kelly began her written statement with a firm declaration of her father’s standing in rock history. “My father’s legacy as a musician, songwriter, singer and bandleader speaks for itself,” she wrote on Instagram Story. “His friends, those who who worked with him, those who love him, and millions of fans around the world that still continue to buy his records know exactly what he meant what he contributed and what he leaves behind. His legacy will live on eternally.”
But the 41-year-old wasn’t done. She returned an hour later to directly address Snider in a second post that dismantled his career while elevating her father’s nearly six-decade run in heavy metal. Kelly called out the vocalist for “trying to diminish” Ozzy and his “extraordinary abilities and achievements when he is no longer here to challenge his allegations,” adding that Snider “cannot claim to know the private reality” of her dad’s life “simply by looking in from the outside or from hearsay from a delusional man [Daisley, with whom Ozzy had a falling out] with a vendetta against my father.”
She then took the opportunity to make what she framed as a “devastating” comparison between Ozzy’s lengthy career and that of Snider. “Snider had a brief period of mainstream success more than 40 years ago. My fathers [sic] career spanned nearly six decades — from helping define heavy metal with Black Sabbath to building an extraordinary solo career,” she penned. “His music will continue influencing generations long after all of us are gone.”
Kelly went on to wonder whether Snider’s “attempt to belittle” Ozzy was a way to get “people talking about him again” since “the music industry moved on from Snider’s commercial peak decades ago.” By contrast, she argued that her father’s “name, catalogue and influence still remains globally relevant.”
Moreover, Kelly insisted that the Grammy winner “doesn’t need Dee Snider’s approval to establish his place in music history” and slammed the singer for “trying to make” Ozzy “smaller” to make himself feel “bigger.” She concluded her brutal upload with a final swipe: “It only reminds everyone of the enormous difference between their legacies and further proves just how irrelevant Snider is to the music industry and society as a whole. However I would like to thank you Dee Snider for allowing the world to see how truly desperate he really is!”
In the viral moment that sparked Kelly’s response, Snider had posted on X earlier this week casting doubt on Ozzy’s songwriting credits. The Twisted Sister frontman suggested the Prince of Darkness “always” relied on outside writers, specifically naming Black Sabbath bassist Bob Daisley and late Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister as the real creative forces behind Ozzy’s material. Snider’s comment that Sharon “doesn’t like to share” appeared to imply that she had worked to suppress credit for collaborators. The claims landed with particular force given that Ozzy died in July 2025 at age 76 after suffering a heart attack, leaving him unable to respond personally.
The attack on Ozzy’s legacy comes after Snider himself had offered seemingly sincere tributes following the rocker’s death. In July, Snider wrote on X, “Farewell @OzzyOsbourne. You and your bands changed my life. Thank you for the ride.” He also posted about watching Ozzy’s final performance, calling it “great but Heartbreaking on so many levels” and noting that “Mama I’m Coming Home was tough to get through. For us (the audience) AND Ozzy.”