In the long, messy history of rock feuds, few stories are as outrageous — or as theatrical — as the 2005 blow-up between Sharon Osbourne and Bruce Dickinson, lead singer of Iron Maiden.
It happened at Ozzfest 2005, a touring festival created by Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne to celebrate heavy music and showcase some of the biggest names in metal. Iron Maiden were co-headliners — until things got personal.
⚡ The Build-Up: Tensions Boil on Tour
According to Sharon, the trouble began when Bruce Dickinson allegedly started disrespecting her husband Ozzy Osbourne during Iron Maiden’s sets. Reports suggest Dickinson took shots at Ozzy for using a teleprompter, and mocked his family’s MTV reality show — The Osbournes — which had turned Ozzy into a household name beyond metal.
Sharon wasn’t having it.
“We had to listen to Bruce Dickinson bashing Ozzy every night from the stage,” Sharon told reporters after the tour. “That’s just bad form. We treated him with respect. He didn’t return it.”
(—Sharon Osbourne, Blabbermouth, 2005)
🥫 The Beans Hit the Fan — Literally
It all came to a head during Iron Maiden’s final Ozzfest set in San Bernardino, California. In what can only be described as rock ’n’ roll sabotage, Iron Maiden’s PA system was mysteriously cut out multiple times during their performance.
But that wasn’t all.
As the band played, audience members — allegedly tipped off or encouraged by Sharon and her entourage — began pelting the stage with eggs, lighters, and even opened cans of baked beans.
Sharon later admitted to orchestrating the chaos.
“I had him pelted with eggs and cans of baked beans. And I had the sound cut… I don’t regret it. You don’t diss my family,”
(—Sharon Osbourne, The Guardian, 2005)
🏴 Bruce Fires Back
Bruce Dickinson didn’t take it lying down. In classic frontman fashion, he addressed the chaos mid-set with fire in his voice and the Union Jack waving behind him:
“You may have noticed there’s been a few eggs flying about. This is an English flag… and these colors do not f*ing run from you aholes.”
(—Bruce Dickinson, Ozzfest 2005)
The band finished the show amid the chaos — and the crowd was clearly divided.
đźš« The Fallout
The metal world erupted.
Fans accused Sharon of being unprofessional, while others defended her as fiercely loyal. Iron Maiden’s manager Rod Smallwood issued a fiery public statement, calling the incident “disgraceful and cowardly” and claiming Sharon’s camp had “hired people to disrupt the show.”
Ozzy, for his part, later said he had no real issue with Bruce himself, and that he respected Iron Maiden as a band — adding that the feud was “not his fight.”
🎠Drama or Damage Control?
To this day, the “baked bean incident” remains one of the wildest chapters in rock feud history. It’s part scandal, part soap opera, and part classic metal chaos — the kind of story that could only happen at the crossroads of ego, loyalty, and live performance.
Whether you think Sharon Osbourne went too far or simply stood her ground, one thing’s for sure: nobody forgets Ozzfest 2005.
What do you think? Was Sharon right or wrong to fling the beans?! Let us know!