Sharon Osbourne, one of the first women to manage a rock band, is opening up about her experience with protecting other women in the entertainment industry.
Sharon Osbourne has revealed the lengths she’s gone to protect her female employees—and it includes firing male staff members.
In an interview with The Mirror, as reported by TooFab, Sharon explained, “Men take advantage. They always have and they always will.”
“The amount of men that have worked for me that have been looking for those young girls,” she recalled. “[One employee] has worked for me for years,” she added, “and the times I have fired men taking advantage of her, abusing her, and trying to ply her with drink.”
Sharon believes she never had a #MeToo experience while working in the male-dominated industry because she was “too threatening.”
“I’ve never wanted to be shown as vulnerable. When I started there were no other women managers in this genre,” she said. “It’s tough. That’s why people go, ‘She’s so this, so that’. But you have to be, otherwise, people eat you up. It’s survival.”
Navigating Protecting Female Employees Wasn’t Sharon’s Only Struggle—
—But handling her husband Ozzy’s early fame and fans while in a committed relationship was, too.
In an interview with Daily Mail, as reported by TooFab, Sharon revealed why she chose to ignore Ozzy’s groupies—but also noted where she drew the line.
“I was so used to it because that was the world I knew. That’s what comes along with being famous. It was always there,” The Talk alum said, referring to Ozzy’s adoring fans.
She continued, “Especially if somebody is insecure or a narcissist that wants it all [as he was]. I was always like, ‘Wear a condom and never ask names or addresses. You don’t want to know.’”
It’s safe to say that Sharon’s history of managing artists in the rock scene has been nothing short of—well, eventful.