Jack Osbourne Addresses Criticism Over UFC Freedom 250 Attendance

Jack Osbourne is pushing back against the criticism he's faced following his attendance at UFC Freedom 250, the combat sports event that took place on the South Lawn of the White House last weekend to celebrate Donald Trump's 80th birthday.

The 40-year-old and his wife Aree Gearhart were among the celebrities who showed up for the occasion. Now, in a video shared on YouTube, Osbourne has addressed the controversy head-on.

"I went to a sporting event. That's it," Osbourne stated. "I didn't go and throw my hat in the ring for political office. I wasn't there going to endorse a politician or some kind of, you know, foreign affairs issue. Nothing. I literally went to the White House to go see UFC."

Osbourne emphasized his genuine connection to combat sports, tracing his involvement back decades. He began taekwondo training at age six, studied Muay Thai during his late teens and early twenties in Thailand, and later took up jiu-jitsu in his 30s. "I have also attended UFC and PRIDE fights going back to the early 2000s," he noted. "It is something that has been a part of my life since I can remember."

When Dana White, the UFC's President and CEO, extended the invitation, Osbourne said he couldn't have turned it down. "Of course I would go. Any person out there who would get an invite would have gone. I'm sorry, there's no one I could think of that would have been like, 'No, I'm not going to that 'cause I don't approve of Orange Man' or whatever."

He characterized the backlash as "ridiculous," maintaining that the gathering was fundamentally about sports rather than politics. "It was not a political event — or in my eyes it was not. It was a f–king fight at the White House. Who gives a s–t?"

Osbourne also responded to suggestions that his late father, Ozzy Osbourne, would disapprove of his attendance. "You did not know my father. You did not know where he stood with things," he countered. "Yes, he wrote a song called 'War Pigs,' sure. Anti-war song. He wasn't anti-UFC. He wasn't anti-going to an event at the White House. He was anti-war."

To further illustrate his point, Osbourne referenced his father's attendance at a White House Correspondents Dinner during the Bush administration, sharing footage of Ozzy enthusiastically celebrating when former President George W. Bush gave him a shoutout. Osbourne also highlighted that his father participated in USO tours and visited wounded service members at Walter Reed Medical Center.

"So, shut the f–k up, basically," Osbourne concluded. "To bring my father into this to say he would or wouldn't've approve is completely insane. I simply attended a sporting event for a sport that I have a great amount of respect for and something that's been a part of my life since I can remember."

He wrapped up his statement with a final jab at his detractors: "So, deal with it, and I'm sorry you weren't invited."