Ozzy Osbourne Issues Statement on Jake E. Lee Shooting
Ozzy Osbourne has issued a statement about his former guitarist Jake E. Lee being shot multiple times in Las Vegas.
Ozzy told TMZ about the shooting, “It’s been 37 years since I’ve seen Jake E. Lee, but that still doesn’t take away from the shock of hearing what happened to him today. It’s just another senseless act of gun violence. I send my thoughts to him and his beautiful daughter, Jade. I just hope he’ll be ok.”
According to the Associated Press, Lee was shot multiple times around 2:40 a.m. on Tuesday (October 15) in a neighborhood about 10 miles south of the Las Vegas Strip. At the time of the shooting, a representative for Lee said he was out walking his dog. The rep noted that Lee “is expected to fully recover” from the shooting and added, “As the incident is under police investigation, no further comments will be forthcoming. Lee and his family appreciate respecting their privacy at this time.”
Lee is currently a member of the band Red Dragon Cartel. The band’s manager, Tim Heyne, told the Associated Press that “no major organs were hit.”
Lee’s tenure with Ozzy Osbourne lasted from 1982 to 1987. He played on 1983’s Bark at the Moon and 1986’s The Ultimate Sin.
A Van Halen Album with Ozzy Osbourne?
Ozzy Osbourne has been in the news lately for a surprising reason. In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Alex Van Halen revealed that in 2001, he and Eddie Van Halen had a sit-down with Sharon Osbourne about having Ozzy front a Van Halen album. Things were looking well for the project, but then MTV came calling. A meeting with the network led to The Osbournes, the super-popular reality show, and then the Ozzy/Van Halen album fell by the wayside.
Ozzy issued a comment on the story to Rolling Stone and confirmed that the project was being discussed. The Prince of Darkness said if he and the Van Halen brothers ended up working on music, it would have been “phenomenal.” He referred to Eddie and Alex as “great friends of mine for a long time” and called the dropped project “a regret of mine.”
Ozzy is set to be honored at the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which takes place this Saturday (October 19). As previously reported, the 2024 ceremony will live stream on Disney+. An edited special will air on ABC at a later date, which will be available on Hulu the next day. While Ozzy won’t be performing at the ceremony, an all-star collection of artists will be performing in his honor including Billy Idol, Jelly Roll, Chad Smith, Wolfgang Van Halen, Zakk Wylde, Maynard James Keenan, Robert Trujillo, Steve Stevens and Andrew Watt.
