Ozzy Osbourne fans were left scratching their heads after NBC barely aired the rocker’s NFL halftime show on Thursday.
When sports reporter Maria Taylor introduced the performance, the 73-year-old singer was already working on a new song from his latest album, “Patient Number 9”.
The network then gave a 10-second glimpse of Osbourne onstage before getting back to Taylor and her colleagues.
While the rest of the former Black Sabbath frontman’s performance was not broadcast, fan videos circulating online show him singing his hit song “Crazy Train” as sports reporters watch the game Los Angeles Rams vs. Buffalo Bills discussed.
“NBC thinks we’d rather hear a first half recap than Ozzy Osbourne’s performance is…mysterious,” one Twitter user wrote of the pick, while others called it “blasphemous” and “garbage”.
Another viewer wrote“As usual, NBC finds a way to fk-up a sports broadcast. Ozzy Osbourne performing? Let’s put our on-air personalities on screen to scream about what we’ve just seen.”
The performance marked Osbourne’s second stage appearance since he underwent “life-changing” surgery in June.
The Grammy winner, who previously performed at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games in August, recently said in a rare interview on “Good Morning America” that his health has “improved” since the procedure.
“I have to negotiate everywhere I want to go, and I get tired quickly, but it’s going well,” he said on Wednesday. “My family was absolutely amazing while I was in bed.”
Ozzy’s wife, Sharon Osbourne, jokingly called him a “pain in the butt.”
Last month, the couple expressed a desire to return to the UK, noting that their decision has nothing to do with the musician’s health concerns.
The pair quoted “f–king ridiculous” gun violence in an Observer interview (via Bloomberg), with Ozzy saying, “I don’t want to die in America.
“I don’t want to be buried in f–king Forest Lawn,” he added. “I’m English. I want to be back.”
The outlet reported that the couple, who married in 1982, are moving into their 120-year-old property, Welders House, in Buckinghamshire.