Ozzy Osbourne’s Wildest Antics: From Ants to Biting Bat Heads

Ozzy Osbourne was known for his wild antics both on and off stage and provided fans with some more than memorable moments over the years.

The Black Sabbath frontman’s drug–fuelled antics never failed to shock at the height of his fame, and the Prince of Darkness certainly lived up to his name.

His most infamous moment was arguably when he bit the head off a bat that had been thrown on stage during a solo performance in 1982.

But that wasn’t the only time he made headlines for his crazed antics and the metal legend never shied away from openly chatting about his most memorable moments.

Despite his wild antics and controversies giving him quite the unruly reputation, Ozzy remained a leading pioneer in heavy metal music and earned his place as a true national treasure.

Upon the sad news of his death aged 76, his loyal fans have been fondly looking  back on some of his unforgettable and wildest moments during his decades–long career.

Biting the head off a bat

Arguably one of the most famous and crazed celebrity moments ever was when Ozzy bit the head off a bat live on stage.

The metal star became synonymous with the flying animal after the unexpected moment at the Des Moines Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Iowa in January 1982.

A concertgoer bizarrely hurled the bat on stage with Ozzy then picking it up and ripping into it with his teeth.

His mouth was seen filling with blood as the audience watched on in horror, and he never lived down the shocking incident.

He has been repeatedly asked about the moment over the years, but long insisted that he thought the bat was a rubber toy rather than a live animal.

Ozzy complained that he had to rush to hospital after the show for a rabies shot and claimed the bat was alive.

However, this was disputed by audience member Mark Neal who claimed to have thrown the animal and insisted it was dead.

‘For anyone out there who thinks it’s ”cool”… and if you want to be a complete d**k, try it,’ Ozzy previously said.

Now one of the wildest moments in rock n’ roll history, it became a symbol of Ozzy’s career and he fully embraced this, even selling bat toys with a removable head.

… and biting the head off a DOVE 

His stomach–churning antics with animals didn’t stop there as he also came under fire for biting a dove’s head off in 1981.

Ozzy famously showed up with some live doves while meeting a group of music executives to celebrate a new CBS Records deal.

He had intended to throw them into the air so the group could watch them fly away in a symbolic gesture of peace, but his antics didn’t go to plan. 

After getting ‘p**sed off’ with one executive, he ended up biting the head off one of the doves and allegedly spat it on the table.

‘Then I did it again with the next dove,’ he recalled in his 2011 autobiography I Am Ozzy.

‘That’s when they threw me out. They said I’d never work for CBS again.’

Ozzy later told a slightly different story, claiming the doves had died before his planned release, so he ‘bit its head off’ rather than ‘waste it’.

‘You should have seen their faces. They all went white. They were speechless,’ he told Sounds Magazine. 

Sharon later revealed a major company boss told him they would ‘absolutely destroy’ Ozzy if he ever did such a thing again. 

‘Snorting’ ants 

Another outlandish moment was when Ozzy snorted a trail of ants while on tour with Motley Crue back in 1984.

It was wildly rumoured that Ozzy had snorted a trail of live ants that were attracted to a melted ice lolly that had melted on the floor during a wild hotel stay during the tour. 

Though fans doubted whether the incident actually occurred, Motley Crue’s drummer Tommy Lee insisted it happened and Ozzy himself has also set the record straight.

He claimed everyone had been trying to ‘out–rock star and out–gross’ one another when the moment occurred – with Ozzy proving himself to be the wildest of them all.

‘I know people ask that all the time. They’re, like, ”Dude, really?” I’m, like, abso–f**king–lutely. You can’t make that s**t up,’ he said last year on This Past Weekend With Theo Von.

Ozzy’s wife Sharon cast doubt on whether she thought the story was true, but Ozzy set the record straight on his family podcast back in 2023.

Sharon told their son Jack that she didn’t think it was true, however Ozzy interrupted and vowed that he had indeed snorted the ants while drunk on tour.

‘I did, I was there, I did it,’ Ozzy said on The Osbournes podcast. ‘It’s my nostril […] I was drunk, and I did it.’ 

Talking to a horse while on acid

Though Ozzy was sober from 2013, he was known for his drug–fuelled antics at the height of his fame and openly detailed his antics while experimenting with drugs.

He famously gave up taking psychedelic drug LSD, also known as acid, in the 1970s after having an hour–long conversation with a horse while on a trip.

He recalled how he frequently took LSD while making music in Los Angeles, but stopped after having a bizarre conversation with a horse after taking 10 tabs of acid.

‘At that time in America, people were very fond of lacing your drinks with acid,’ he told Classic Rock. 

‘I didn’t care. I used to swallow handfuls of tabs at a time. The end of it came when we got back to England.

‘I took 10 tabs of acid then went for a walk in a field. I ended up standing there talking to this horse for about an hour. In the end the horse turned round and told me to f**k off. That was it for me.’

Ozzy struggled with drug and alcohol addiction over the years and said he felt he could not ‘do a thing creatively sober’ at the height of his fame in the 1970s.

However, he eventually went sober in 2013, but briefly returned to smoking marijuana last year because of his health woes, including his struggles with Parkinson’s.

Throwing raw meat at his fans

Anything could happen at a Black Sabbath show, and Ozzy took that to a whole new level after the band kicked him out in 1979 due to his substance abuse issues.

During his Diary of a Madman solo tour in 1981, Ozzy developed a ritual where he would throw raw meat at concertgoers.

In response, they would throw bizarre items that they had managed to sneak into the venues right back at him – which led to the infamous bat moment.

Of his decision to start the raw meat ritual, Ozzy shared: ‘I always liked old movies that used to have these custard–pie fights. 

‘It gave me this idea to throw, instead of pie, bits of meat and animal parts into the audience. I thought it was hilarious. 

‘[They’d throw back] sheep testicles, live snakes, dead rats, all kinds of things. Someone once threw a live frog onstage. It was the biggest frog I’d ever seen, and it landed on its back.’

However, Ozzy – who reunited with Black Sabbath in 1997 – quickly grew tired of the gag after fans expected him to keep upping the ante.

‘It got to the point where people expected me to do crazier and crazier things,’ he admitted. 

Urinating on a US war memorial 

Ozzy famously caused offence when he urinated on a war memorial during a visit to Texas in 1982.

He was banned from San Antonio for a decade after he urinated on The Alamo Cenotaph, also known as The Spirit of Sacrifice.

The metal star was arrested for his actions but was released just hours later before taking to the stage to a sold–out crowd at HemisFair Arena that night.

In 1992, Ozzy made a public apology and gifted $10,000 to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, before finally returning to Alamo City to perform once again.

Following Ozzy’s death, the official Alamo account said it was ‘deeply’ saddened to hear of his passing and acknowledged his ‘humility’ in making up for his mistake.

‘We at the Alamo are saddened to hear of the passing of legendary musician Ozzy Osbourne,’ they wrote. 

‘His relationship with the Alamo was marked initially by a deeply disrespectful incident in 1982. This act profoundly and rightfully upset many who hold this site sacred.

‘However, redemption and reconciliation eventually became part of his history as well. 

‘In 1992, Ozzy personally apologized to then–Mayor Nelson Wolff and expressed genuine remorse for his actions. 

‘Decades later, in 2015, he revisited the Alamo grounds to learn and appreciate the site’s profound history, openly demonstrating humility and understanding.

‘At the Alamo, we honor history in all its complexities. Today, we acknowledge Ozzy Osbourne’s journey from regret to reconciliation at the historic site, and we extend our condolences to his family, friends, and fans around the world. May he rest in peace.’