Ozzy Osbourne Makes First Public Appearance Since Surgery

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Ozzy Osbourne made his first public appearance since undergoing surgery on his neck and back last month.

The Prince of Darkness appeared at the San Diego Comic-Con on Friday (July 22) to launch a comic book related to his upcoming album Patient Number 9. A fan video below shows him being welcomed by fans as he's driven through the crowd on an electric cart.

The Black Sabbath icon had repair work done last month on the pins that were placed in his spine following a near-fatal ATV accident in 2003. The pins became misaligned when he suffered a fall in 2019, a year after contracting a serious hand infection and a year before he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

Osbourne's wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne, said last month that the surgery was "really going to determine the rest of his life." She shared that her husband was "doing well and on the road to recovery" shortly after the operation.

The metal legend was in high spirits at Comic-Con and relished the welcoming audience. "It’s great, it's great," he told Entertainment Tonight. "I like to see people, you know. That's been the hardest thing of the past three years, because I've been trying to recover from my surgery. I'm getting there. It's a slow climb back, you know?"

Osbourne went on to discuss the upcoming birth of his fifth grandchild, as daughter Kelly Osbourne is six months pregnant. "Kelly is big and she's beautiful and I love it," he said. When asked about getting a welcome gift for the baby, he replied, "The first thing that I'm gonna buy is a microphone."

The singer also touched on his hopes for his new album, which arrives on Sept. 9. "I have never gone into the studio and gone, 'Oh, you know what? I've got to write a song for a bad record,'" he joked. "I love the record. I hope the fans do [too], you know?"