Jack Osbourne has addressed the controversy regarding his recent attendance at the ‘UFC Freedom 250‘ event. His time at that invite-only affair didn’t sit well with some, given that the event was held on the grounds of the White House and was thus highly politicized. Doubling as a celebration of America’s upcoming 250th anniversary and the 80th birthday of U.S. President Donald J. Trump, the event made history in being the first-ever UFC event to be held on the White House grounds.
However, some of those who attended the event have since faced increased scrutiny online from critics of the current U.S. administration, equating their decision to show up as being an endorsement of Trump and the U.S. administration, with Jack being one of them. Numerous commentors flocked to Osbourne‘s recent social media post about his decision to catch the event this past Sunday, June 14th.
Outside of people alleging that Jack‘s attendance flew in the face of his late father, Ozzy Osbourne‘s, anti-war stance, as made famous in the 1970 Black Sabbath track “War Pigs“, others took to dunking on Jack for his previous comments that celebrities shouldn’t speak their politics.
He told TMZ earlier this spring, “I think celebrities just need to keep their mouths shut. Make entertainment, entertain the people, and shut the f*ck up.” With the controversy over his attendance at the event still lingering, Jack has since issued the below video statement, in which he stated [transcribed by theprp.com]:
“All right, I want to address me going to the White House, to the UFC fight. First of all, some of the comments I’ve been getting are completely insane, and like, what the f*ck? I went to a sporting event, that’s it. I didn’t go and throw my hat in the ring for political office. I wasn’t there going to endorse a politician, or some kind of, you know, foreign affairs issue. Nothing. I literally went to the White House to go see UFC.
I have been into combat sports my entire life. I started doing taekwondo at six, I used to go to Thailand every year in my late teens, early 20s to do Muay Thai. I have fought in Muay Thai fights professionally. In my 30s, I started doing jiu jitsu. I have also attended UFC and Pride fights going back to the early 2000s. It is something that has been a part of my life since I can remember. So when I got invited by Dana White to attend the fight at the White House, of course, I would go. Any person out there who would get an invite would have gone.
I’m sorry, there was no one I could think of that would have been like, no, I’m not doing that, because I don’t approve of, you know, orange man, or whatever, the f*ck, it’s ridiculous. It was not a political event, or in my eyes, it was not. It was a f*cking fight at the White House. Who gives a sh*t? And in fact, when I was there with my wife, I looked over at one point, and I was like, ‘Hey, why aren’t… why does this not happen more often?’ It would be amazing to have sporting events at the White House.
In fact, there are politicians back in the day that did used to do that, so just food for thought. And as far as the people bringing my father into this, saying, ‘Oh, Ozzy would not approve’, he’s ‘rolling over in his grave’, shut the f*ck up. You did not know my father, you did not know where he stood with things. Yes, he wrote a song called ‘War Pigs‘, sure, anti-war song. He was an anti-UFC, he wasn’t anti going to an event at the White House, he was anti-war. Sure, fair enough.
But at the end of the day, my dad still attended the correspondents — the press dinner — back in the day when Bush was president, George Bush gave him a shout out…. Additionally, my dad did USO tours. He went to Korea to see the troops. He attended events at Walter Reed Hospital to see the wounded soldiers and Marines, and you know, Air Force pilots. So, shut the f*ck up, basically.
Like to bring my father into this to say he would or wouldn’t approve is completely insane. I simply attended a sporting event for a sport that I have a great amount of respect for, and something that’s been a part of my life since I can remember. So, deal with it. I’m sorry you weren’t invited.”
