Celebrities often get involved in controversies for political comments they candidly make and later realize it to be a huge mistake, mostly because of the backlash that follows. While some get away with it, some other artists see the consequences of their words reflecting on their work. Kelly Osbourne is one such celebrity who made a seemingly problematic comment back in 2015, and she still hasn’t gotten over the repercussions it had on her life.
The controversy erupted about a decade ago when Osbourne questioned Donald Trump’s immigration stance, demeaning the Latinos as “toilet cleaners“. As she recalls the moment now, she says it is one of the biggest mistakes she made.
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What Did Kelly Osbourne Say That Caused Controversy?
Kelly Osbourne was talking in an interview with Rolling Stone when she recalled the fiasco over the comment she made during an interview with The View in 2015. The TV personality said she now realizes the gravity of her mistake, as she called it “the worst thing I’ve ever done.”
Talking about it nearly a decade later, Osbourne said, “Oh my God, I died. It hurt a lot of people.” The actress had made a comment about Donald Trump’s immigration stance wherein she casually endorsed some disrespectful stereotypes.
“If you kick every Latino out of this country, then who is going to be cleaning your toilet, Donald Trump?” she had said. The insensitive comment drew immediate criticism, while her cohost Rosie Perez also responded to it in real-time stating that “Latinos are not the only people doing that.”
In a seeming attempt at damage control, Osbourne tries to clarify her perspective. She asserted that she respects Latin American culture. “I feel very strongly that Latin American culture is the backbone of America,” she said. “I believe that Latin Americans are the hardest-working people you will ever meet,” she added.
“And their connection to family and their culture is closer to mine than the American way. I’ve never tried to be American. I never wanted to be a part of a country where there’s so much hate and there’s so much misinformation and kick them when they’re down mentality,” she added.
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Osbourne Says She Was Going Through A Rough Time When She Made The Comment
Osbourne also said she was going through a rough patch in her life, as her father Ozzy Osbourne’s infidelity and her struggles with anxiety and depression post-rehab came altogether to bother her. “I was drinking to numb the pain of everything. I was a trash can when it came to drugs, whatever I could get my hands on. And I was a really broken, scared person,” she said.
“And then after that event, it kind of kick-started me taking a long, hard look at myself and the things that I don’t like and the things that I’d like to change and the things that I’d like to keep,” she said.
She also asserted that she has no authority to discuss matters of race. “Nobody wants to hear from a white person about race. No one. They don’t. I learned that the hard way. Like I said, it is time for us to accept the change that’s happening and embrace it and support it rather than being scared and feeling like someone’s taking something away from you. Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but like I said, it’s time to sit down and shut up.”
She also called on other white people to make some efforts against racism. “Everybody needs to take a long, hard look at themselves,” Osbourne said. “Not everybody. That’s wrong. White people need to take a long hard look, check their privilege, and be a little bit more open-minded. A lot more open-minded,” she added.
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