Jack Osbourne addressed online backlash after attending the UFC fight at the White House, arguing he went as a lifelong combat-sports fan—not for politics—while also rejecting claims that his late father, Ozzy Osbourne, would have disapproved.
Jack Osbourne didn’t just attend a UFC fight at the White House—he walked into a storm.
On Thursday. June 18. the 40-year-old posted a video on his YouTube page to address the backlash he’s been getting after choosing to attend the Sunday. June 14 event. “Alright. I want to address me going to the White House to the UFC fight. ” he began. turning to the camera as he reacted to the criticism. “First of all, some of the comments I’ve been getting are completely insane. Like, what the f***?. I went to a sporting event. That’s it.”.
In his video, Osbourne shared screenshots of fans and social media users expressing disappointment and embarrassment over his decision. One person wrote, “So disappointed,” while another posted, “Who would want to go… baffling… embarrassing.”
Other comments came harder. “This is kinda devastating not gonna lie,” another fan wrote. “Your birth country would be disappointed to say the least,” someone else commented. Another user urged him to “listen to ‘War Pigs’ one more time. ” pointing to Osbourne’s late father. rock legend Ozzy Osbourne. and Black Sabbath’s 1970 anti-war ballad.
Osbourne said he wasn’t there for political reasons, even though the location itself is political by nature. “I didn’t go and throw my hat into the ring for political office,” he said. “I wasn’t there going to endorse a politician or some kind of foreign affairs issue. Nothing. I literally went to the White House to go see UFC.”.
He emphasized that combat sports are the center of his life, explaining that he started Taekwondo at 6, traveled to Thailand in his late teens and early 20s for Muay Thai, and later began doing Ju Jitsu in his 30s. He also described having attended UFC and Pride fights going back to the early 2000s.
When he explained why he went, he pointed to the invite. “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,” he said. Osbourne added that he couldn’t imagine anyone refusing due to politics. “There is no one I could think of that would have been like, ‘Oh, no. I’m not going because I don’t approve of Orange Man.’ Or whatever the f***. That’s ridiculous.”.
“In my eyes it was not,” he said of the idea that the event was political. “It was a f***ing fight at the White House. Who gives a s***?”
He went a step further during the event, saying he even asked his wife, Aree Gearhart, why the White House—also known as “The People’s House”—doesn’t host more sporting events regularly. “In fact, politicians back in the day used to do that, so just food for thought,” Osbourne continued.
That “War Pigs” argument and the pushback took on a personal edge when commenters invoked his father directly. Osbourne addressed that framing head-on. saying. “As far as the people bringing my father into this. saying. ‘Oh. Ozzy would not approve. He is rolling over in his grave.’ Shut the f*** up.”.
He also noted that Ozzy Osbourne died on July 22, 2025, of a heart attack following a public battle with Parkinson’s. “You did not know my father. You did not know where he stood with things,” Jack said. “Yes, he wrote a song called ‘War Pigs.’ Anti-war song. He wasn’t anti-UFC. He wasn’t anti-going-to-an-event-at-the-White-House. He’s anti-war.”.
To underline his point. Osbourne said his father attended the Correspondents’ Dinner during the Bush presidency. adding that “George Bush gave him a shoutout.” He then played video of Ozzy Osbourne at the 2002 White House Correspondents’ Dinner. in which the musician stood on a table and gave the peace sign after president Bush introduced him to the crowd.
Osbourne also referenced what he said were his father’s public service efforts: “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 Air Force pilots, so shut the f*** up basically.”
He returned to the core message: the idea that his father would disapprove of the event is “completely insane.” “To bring my father into this, to say he would or wouldn’t approve, is completely insane.”
The UFC setting—and the fight that drew attention—was part of the reason the controversy spread. The online ire intensified after UFC heavyweight fighter Josh Hokit called former first lady Michelle Obama “a man” during his postfight interview with Joe Rogan and after defeating Derrick Lewis at UFC Freedom 250.
The White House responded to that remark, with spokesman Steven Cheung telling CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday, June 15 that Hokit “had a great win” and “showed toughness and the ability to pressure his opponent.”
But for Osbourne. the backlash he faced wasn’t only about the fighter’s comments—it was also about his own decision to attend. “I simply attended a sporting event for a sport that I have a great amount of respect for and something that has been a part of my life since I can remember. so deal with it and I’m sorry you weren’t invited. ” he concluded.
A White House address is rarely just an address. For Jack Osbourne, the controversy attached itself anyway—and in his video, he made it clear he believes he went for the sport, not the noise.
Jack Osbourne UFC White House UFC Freedom 250 Josh Hokit Michelle Obama Joe Rogan Derrick Lewis Ozzy Osbourne War Pigs Dana White Aree Gearhart YouTube video