Jack Osbourne defends his choice to attend the conference UFC fight in the White House over the weekend, saying some of the critical comments he received were “totally crazy and like what happened-?”
Former reality star A.J video on his YouTube channel to discuss the backlash he received, sharing several examples of social media comments that said things like “So disappointed” and “This is kinda devastating, I’m not going to lie.”
“I went to a sporting event. That’s all,” he explained. “I didn’t go and throw my hat in the ring for a political office.
“I wasn’t there to endorse politically or any kind of foreign affairs issue, you know. Nothing. I literally went to the White House to go see the UFC.”
Osborne explained that he has been interested in combat sports his entire life, including taking up taekwondo when he was 6 years old, studying Muay Thai in Thailand in his late teens and early 20s, and practicing jiu-jitsu in his 30s.
“I’ve also been to UFC and PRIDE fights dating back to the early 2000s. It’s been a part of my life ever since I can remember,” Osbourne said.
He said when he called him UFC President and CEO Dana White“, “Of course I will go. Anyone who would have gotten an invite would have gone.
“I’m sorry, there wasn’t anyone I could think of who would have said, ‘No, I’m not going to do it because I don’t agree with Orange Man’ or whatever.”
He called the backlash “ridiculous,” stressing that “it wasn’t a political event — or in my view it wasn’t. It was a violent fight in the White House. Who gives a like —?”
The 40-year-old said he told his wife at the event that it would be great if there were more sporting events at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and he noted that some former presidents have held events on the White House lawn.
The “Horror Night” host expressed his dismay at fans who said his late father, Ozzy Osbourne, would not approve of his attendance.
“You didn’t know my father. You didn’t know where he stood on things,” Osbourne said. “Yes, he wrote a song called ‘War Pigs’, for sure. An anti-war song. He wasn’t anti-UFC. He wasn’t anti-going to an event at the White House. He was anti-war.”
He pointed out that his father attended a dinner for White House correspondents during the Bush administration, and showed a video clip of him jumping excitedly when he received a shout out from the former president.
Ozzy also did USO tours and went to visit wounded service members at Walter Reed Medical Center, his son explained.
“So, shut up, basically,” he added. “Bringing my father into this to say he would approve or disapprove of it is absolutely insane. I was simply attending a sporting event for a sport that I have a huge amount of respect for and something that has been a part of my life ever since I can remember.”
“Okay, deal with it, I’m sorry you weren’t invited,” he added.