Late rocker Ozzy Osbourne’s 1982 bat-biting debacle; Did he really bite a bat?

Conspiracy theories go above and beyond especially when celebrities are involved. Yet, sometimes, those bizarre tales contain a grain of truth. Ozzy Osbourne, famously known as the Prince of Darkness, passed away on July 22, 2025, but his infamous bat-biting incident still echoes through pop culture and among his devoted fans. 

Ozzy Osbourne’s legendary bat incident and other jaw-dropping rock antics

Ozzy was one of the most outrageous rockers of his time and through the blending of thunderous guitar riffs with dark, theatrical themes, he changed the genre of heavy metal forever. He is known to the world for his notorious behaviours on and off-screen. He poured his madness not only in rock but also in his real life. From weird tales of biting a bat to outrageous acts on reality TV kept him firmly in the public eye for years. 

The sheer incidents of madness

The legendary bat-biting incident occurred on January 20, 1982, at the Des Moines Veterans Memorial Auditorium, during Ozzy's iconic Diary of a Madman tour, forever cementing his reputation as rock’s most unpredictable showman.

The singer had a bizarre ritual of throwing raw meat at the crowd and the fans would hurl back whatever strange items they’d managed to smuggle in. During one of his wild rituals, a fan hurled a bat onto the stage. Thinking it was a rubber prop, Ozzy playfully bit its head—only to have his mouth suddenly flood with blood. To everyone’s horror, including his own, he realized the bat was very much real.

Speaking candidly in a 2020 documentary, he shared, “I thought it was a rubber bat. I picked it up, put it in my mouth, crunched down, bit into it, being the clown that I am.” 

Reflecting on the incident, he added, “Bats are the biggest carriers of rabies in the world,” and confessed he had to endure a painful round of rabies shots — one in each of his butt cheeks.

He also shared the story behind his fascination with the raw meat-throwing ritual. He said, “I always liked old movies that used to have these custard-pie fights. It gave me this idea to throw, instead of pie, bits of meat and animal parts into the audience. I thought it was hilarious. They’d throw back sheep testicles, live snakes, dead rats, all kinds of things. Someone once threw a live frog onstage. It was the biggest frog I’d ever seen, and it landed on its back”.

Other fascinatingly grossed out moments

Despite the notorious bat episode, Ozzy continued to push the boundaries with his outrageous behaviour. In 1984 according to some news publications he even snorted ants while on tour with Mötley Crüe. The reason, well they allegedly ran out of cocaine. 

Not grossed out yet? Just wait till you read this — Ozzy once even licked the band’s bassist Nikki Sixx’s urine. The sheer number of wild stunts he pulled off, yet still stood tall as one of rock’s most beloved legends, is nothing short of extraordinary.

Thus, Ozzy Osbourne wasn’t just a rock star — he was a living legend whose outrageous antics and raw talent left an unforgettable mark on music and pop culture alike.

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