Sharon Osbourne’s glad The Osbournes stopped before the rise of social media

Kelly, Ozzy, Sharon and Jack in 2002 (Image credit: K Mazur/WireImage - Getty)

Sharon Osbourne has reflected on the fly on the wall reality show The Osbournes.

The MTV series was broadcast between 2002 - 2005 – and with Facebook launching in 2004 and Twitter not arriving until 2006, Sharon says she’s glad it came to an end before the rise of social media.

Asked by SiriusXM if there’s anything she regrets from the three-year run, Sharon replies: “No, and I'm really lucky for my kids that we stopped it when we stopped it. It was getting too much. I'm glad we stopped it before social media became what it was because people can be so cruel.

“The press were bad enough, but I can imagine peer groups of theirs online and what they would have said and done.”

She adds: “It was cool. We had the best time of our lives. We have so much to look back on. Jack has so much to give to his girls to say, ‘This was me at your age!’ And that's a great family heirloom.”

Sharon also says it was a risk for Ozzy Osbourne to do the show, and says: “He was the one that was in the public eye – he was the celebrity. He's the one that took all the risks. We didn’t, the kids and I.

“I think it paid off for Ozzy, because people saw how funny he is. I mean, he’s just hysterical. He's just a teddy bear. I look back at some of it from time to time, and I think, ‘Oh my God, he’s so funny.’”

Ozzy is preparing to release his as-yet-untitled new solo album in January, and recently launched a Halloween costume contest which will run through November 1. He’s asking fans to dress up in their favourite Ozzy guise and upload the image to the singer’s website.

Ten winners will be selected, with each receiving an autographed bone similar to the one on the cover of Ozzy’s upcoming See You On The Other Side box set.

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