Ozzy Osbourne’s son, Jack Osbourne, is sharing how his multiple sclerosis diagnosis affected his career.
While speaking at Steel City Con in Monroesville, Pennsylvania, Friday, the 39-year-old media personality explained that, following his diagnosis with MS in 2012, he was declared an “insurance risk” and he “couldn’t get hired on productions” for a while.
“Professionally, it was a problem early on,” Jack shared at the convention, according to People. “They were like, ‘Oh, yeah, it’s too dangerous. … So, I did lose work, and I found that really insulting.”
Jack received his diagnosis when he was 26 years old, just a few weeks after welcoming his eldest daughter, Pearl, with his ex-wife Lisa Stelly.
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As a producer, Jack understood the demands of the position and didn’t think it was fair for others to assume what he was capable of. He now produces horror and haunted house-themed travel shows, such as “Jack Osbourne’s Night of Terror” and “Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour.”
“I know what it means to be a producer. We’re not that smart,” he explained. “And you’re going to sit there and, like, a producer is going to tell me what I can or cannot do on a neurological [issue]? I’m like, ‘No. F— off, dude. Stay in your lane.’ “
According to the Mayo Clinic, MS is a degenerative neurological disease in which the “immune system attacks the myelin sheath or the cells that produce and maintain it.” Its symptoms most commonly include numbness, muscle weakness and trouble walking, and some people lose the ability to walk completely.
While these are common symptoms for most, Jack said this has not been his experience with the disease. He acknowledged how lucky he is to have had MS without “any huge problems with it over the years.”
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“Some things here and there, but nothing life-changing to this point, which I count my blessings towards that,” he said. “I exercise a lot. My whole thing is a ‘body in motion stays in motion.’ Just keep going. I try and eat right. … I like to do things. I like rock climbing. I do a lot of jiujitsu and hiking. I like to be active.”
While he always knew what his body was capable of, he explained it took a public display of his strength to get him back on track in terms of work.
“What really was the changing factor for me, as weird as it sounds, I did ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and did really well on it,” he explained. “After that, everyone was like, ‘Oh, he’s fine.'”
Jack was recently a contestant on season two of FOX’s “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.” While he enjoyed being on the show, Jack was medically withdrawn after six episodes when he woke up with an elevated heart rate two days in a row.
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He told Entertainment Weekly in a November 2023 interview that while his exit was due to medical reasons, his MS was not the cause. He left due to a potassium deficiency.
WATCH: Jack Osbourne reveals why he withdrew from ‘Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test’
“I’m putting my producer hat on. The show needs people to drop. The medic on the show, he’s a real doctor,” he told the outlet. “He could give us whatever medicine he wanted, but it doesn’t make for good TV if we get patched up and go back in the fight. They need people to leave. So, it’s kind of a kiss of death when you go see the doctor on that show, even if it’s something minor.”
