Dee Snider Backs Down and Apologises After Kelly Osbourne Annihilates Him Over Ozzy Songwriting Drama

Dee Snider has publicly apologised to Kelly Osbourne after a heated online row over Ozzy Osbourne's songwriting credits, telling her on Instagram that he was 'sorry what I said hurt you' and insisting he never meant to diminish her late father's legacy.

A week-long spat in which Snider questioned how much Ozzy personally contributed to some of his most famous songs, both in his solo work and with Black Sabbath.

The debate began when a fan flagged that Motörhead's Lemmy Kilmister is listed as co-writer on several tracks from Ozzy's 1991 album No More Tears, including 'I Don't Want to Change the World', 'Mama, I'm Coming Home' and 'Hellraiser.'

Responding on social media, Snider suggested that the official credits did not tell the whole story, and appeared to lay blame squarely at the door of Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy's wife and longtime manager. 'I know too much about the truth behind the scenes. Let's just say that [Sharon] doesn't like to share,' he wrote.

When another user mentioned that bassist Bob Daisley had written a 'load' for Ozzy before being fired in the early 1980s, Snider pushed the point further. 'A load? How about ALL the lyrics? Ozzy always had bass players write his lyrics,' he claimed, casting doubt on how much of the Prince of Darkness' catalogue could truly be credited to Ozzy alone.

Kelly did not let that pass. In a series of posts, she accused the Twisted Sister frontman of taking a swipe at her father when he was no longer able to defend himself.

'My father's legacy as a musician, songwriter, singer and bandleader speaks for itself,' she wrote, before turning on Snider personally: 'Your last hit ... not to age myself was the year I was born over 40 years ago.'

Her language was unambiguous. Kelly described Snider's remarks as 'spectacularly classless', saying he was 'trying to diminish my father Ozzy Osbourne and his extraordinary abilities and achievements when he's no longer here to challenge his allegations.'

She also dismissed Snider's claim to insider knowledge, suggesting he was leaning on 'hearsay from a delusional man with a vendetta' and pointing out that, as far as she knew, Snider and her father had barely crossed paths.

For Kelly, this was not just about one interview or one songwriting credit. She contrasted Ozzy's 'towering' influence on heavy metal, which she said would continue 'long after all of us are gone' with what she portrayed as the industry moving on from Snider's commercial peak 'decades ago'. In other words, she made it very clear who she felt had earned the right to speak with authority.

Dee Snider Walks Back Ozzy Songwriting Claims

Under growing backlash from Ozzy fans, Snider attempted to cool the situation last Friday, 14 August. He insisted that, contrary to the way his posts had been read, he held Ozzy in high regard.

'To be clear, I HAVE NOTHING BUT LOVE FOR OZZY. He was always lovely to me. @BlackSabbath changed my life!' he wrote, adding that 'as a songwriter I can be a little touchy about credit and royalties.'

That nuance did not erase the sting of his earlier comments, but it hinted at where he was coming from. Snider was effectively saying that his frustration was about the music business and its murky crediting practices, not a personal attack on Ozzy as a performer.

The real shift came when Snider amplified a fan's comment that cut to the heart of the row. The fan suggested that Kelly's anger stemmed less from the accuracy of the songwriting history and more from the implication that her father's legacy was being reduced.

'Text strips away tone. I know you respect Ozzy. If it were me, I'd simply say: I'm sorry it hurt you. That was never my intent,' the post read.

Snider admitted he had been struggling to find the right words and thanked the fan for spelling it out. Sharing the message, he wrote: 'I've been looking for the right response.'

He then tagged Kelly directly and delivered the apology that had been conspicuously missing. 'I'm sorry what I said hurt you. It was never my intent. My sympathies on the loss of your dad.'

Ozzy's Legacy Looms Over Dee Snider Clash

The timing of the Snider controversy has made it particularly raw. Ozzy Osbourne, the heavy metal icon, solo star and Black Sabbath frontman, died on 22 July 2025 at the age of 76.

His death has triggered the sort of cultural stocktake that few musicians ever receive, stretching from metal diehards to casual listeners who simply grew up with his voice in the background.

In Birmingham, his hometown, fans gathered this summer for the first-ever 'Ozzy Day', held exactly one year after his death. A brass band played Black Sabbath classics. The mechanical 'Ozzy The Bull' statue in New Street station was dressed up with the singer's trademark round glasses.

It was an unapologetically civic tribute to a man who had once been written off as an oddball and is now treated as a local hero. At the same time, the Osbourne family is leaning into technology and storytelling to keep that legacy alive.

Sharon and Jack Osbourne have confirmed that an AI avatar of Ozzy is in development, despite critics accusing them of a 'cash grab.' Sharon's retort that she 'doesn't need your fucking money' underlined how little patience she has for those questioning her motives.

Jack has also said that a biopic about Ozzy and Sharon is 'absolutely' going ahead, while Ozzfest is slated to return in 2027 in Birmingham. In that context, any suggestion that Ozzy's songwriting role has been oversold was always likely to hit a nerve.

The detail of who wrote which lyric may be complex, and nothing about those behind-the-scenes arrangements is independently confirmed, but the broader battle here is about ownership, memory and who gets to tell the story of one of metal's defining figures.