Jack Osbourne is pushing back after criticism over his attendance at UFC’s “UFC Freedom 250” birthday event for Donald Trump, insisting he went to watch fights—not to engage in politics—and directly rejecting claims his late dad Ozzy Osbourne would have disapp
Jack Osbourne didn’t wait long to respond to the backlash.
After UFC hosted “UFC Freedom 250” on the South Lawn of the White House in honor of Donald Trump’s 80th birthday last weekend. the 40-year-old actor and his wife. Aree Gearhart. were among the stars in attendance. In a new video posted on YouTube, Osbourne addressed the criticism head-on, insisting his reason for going was simple.
“I went to a sporting event. That’s it,” he clarified. “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.”
He then placed the focus back on his lifelong connection to combat sports. Osbourne said he’s been interested in the world of fighting for his entire life—doing taekwondo at 6 years old. studying Muay Thai in Thailand in his late teens and early 20s. and doing jiu-jitsu in his 30s. “I have also attended UFC and PRIDE fights going back to the early 2000s,” he added. “It is something that has been a part of my life since I can remember.”.
Osbourne also explained how the invitation came together. saying it was Dana White. the President and CEO of UFC. who reached out. “When he invited me to the event by Dana White. the President and CEO of UFC. ‘of course I would go. Any person out there who would get an invite would have gone,’” Osbourne said. He then dismissed the idea that his presence was driven by politics. adding: “I’m sorry. there’s no one I could think of that would have been like. ‘No. I’m not going to that ‘cause I don’t approve of Orange Man’ or whatever the f–k.”.
Calling the backlash “ridiculous,” Osbourne argued it was never meant to be treated like a political moment. “It was not a political event — or in my eyes it was not,” he said. “It was a f–king fight at the White House. Who gives a s–t?”
The criticism apparently took another turn when people suggested his late father, Ozzy Osbourne, would have been disappointed in him for attending. Osbourne rejected that completely, saying critics “did not know my father” or “where he stood with things.”
He acknowledged that Ozzy wrote the song “War Pigs,” describing it as an anti-war piece, but said that didn’t translate into opposition to UFC. “He wasn’t anti-UFC. He wasn’t anti-going to an event at the White House. He was anti-war.”
Osbourne pointed to Ozzy’s history with the White House as further evidence. He said Ozzy attended a White House Correspondents Dinner during the Bush administration and shared a video of the late Black Sabbath frontman “excitedly jumping up and down” when he received a shoutout from former President George W. Bush. Osbourne also said his dad did USO tours and went to visit wounded service members at Walter Reed Medical Center.
“So, shut the f–k up, basically,” Osbourne concluded. “To bring my father into this to say he would or wouldn’t’ve 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.”
He closed the message with a blunt send-off to the critics. “So, deal with it, and I’m sorry you weren’t invited.”
The UFC Freedom 250 fallout has continued beyond Osbourne as well, with another star also explaining why they attended the event “amid criticism.”
Jack Osbourne Aree Gearhart UFC Freedom 250 UFC Dana White Donald Trump White House combat sports taekwondo Muay Thai jiu-jitsu Ozzy Osbourne PRIDE Black Sabbath USO tours Walter Reed Medical Center White House Correspondents Dinner
So he went for “fights” sure lol
I don’t even get why people are mad, it’s UFC. But like… it was at the White House? That just feels political whether he says it isn’t.
He’s acting like it was just a random arena, but South Lawn is kinda a big deal. Also Ozzy wouldn’t even care, right? Like this sounds more like they wanted attention for the Trump birthday and Jack is the face of it.
Dana White reaching out is the part that makes it weird to me. If the invite came from Dana, why is he not saying that straight up like “Dana asked, I went” instead of all the “no politics” talk. And UFC has always been political-ish anyway, like they’re always tied to presidents in some way. Also, “UFC Freedom 250” sounds like a slogan somebody made up for fundraising or something, idk.