I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! star Jack Osbourne grew up believing his grandfather had died despite him being alive

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! star Jack Osbourne shared shocking details about his family dynamics during a conversation with his co-stars in the November 28, 2025, episode of the competition series. 

In one part of the episode, Jack opened up about his late grandfather and music manager Don Arden, mentioning that he grew up thinking he had died. It was not until Jack was nearly 18 that he discovered that his grandfather had been alive and present all that time. 

He held his mother, Sharon Osbourne, wife of the late Ozzy Osbourne, accountable for that dynamic, as he revealed to his castmates that it was she who “actually told me [Don] was dead.”

He explained that the complex relationship among his family members was a direct consequence of Sharon’s falling out with her father over a family dispute regarding Ozzy’s career management. 

Jack also revealed details about his grandfather’s influence over and role in the entertainment industry, sharing that he was known for threatening singers and bands into working in alignment with him. 

Don Arden died on July 21, 2007, while Ozzy Osbourne passed away on July 22, 2025, after suffering from coronary artery disease as well as Parkinson’s. 

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! fame Jack Osbourne shares details about his grandfather Don Arden’s infamous reputation

In the November 28 episode of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Jack revealed that he did not know about the presence of his grandfather until his late teens because Sharon made him believe that he had died. 

According to him, his mother’s decision was largely influenced by her father’s infamous reputation and their longtime estrangement, which stemmed from a conflict over the management of Ozzy’s career.

It all came to a head when Black Sabbath fired Ozzy Osbourne in 1979, and Don Arden signed him under his label, Jet Records, as a solo artist. 

In a February 2025 episode of The Magnificent Others podcast, Sharon opened up about her father and why she wanted to take Ozzy out of his Jet Records label. 

“Ozzy was signed with Jet Records … I wanted Ozzy out because I knew he would never get any money, never. My dad used to wait after the tour, first tour, ‘Where’s the money?’ Because we used to get paid in cash, still, in those days. And I’d have bags of money, and he’ say, ‘Where’s the money?’” Sharon recalled. 

She added that she knew Ozzy would be one of her father’s “workhorses,” and she did not want that for him. Moreover, she stated her father’s attitude was, “I’ll make you a star, and I’ll take the money.”

Disagreements over payments ultimately led to their fallout, pushing Sharon to cut ties with her father and the label.

She also revealed on the podcast that even after they parted ways, her father would send “his little Italian guys,” who would threaten them with guns. 

When Jack was questioned about his grandfather’s reputation, he confirmed that he “pulled guns on people, everything.”

According to Jack, Don “sent hitmen” and mobsters “with guns” who would show up at his father’s shows. He further shared that his grandfather would “dangle bands out the window unless they signed to him.”

The I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! star also mentioned that Don had connections with the Kray brothers, infamous British gangsters and leaders of the criminal organization known as The Firm. 

It was due to those reasons that Jack was kept out of Don’s presence until his late teens. It was years later that Sharon introduced Jack and her daughter, Kelly, to him when they encountered him in Los Angeles, as per a 2006 interview with The Guardian. 

Reflecting on his grandfather’s memories, Jack stated that Sharon was Don’s “protégé.” Although he “taught her everything,” Jack claimed that he did “all sorts of scr*wed up things,” including firebombing record companies. 

Stay tuned for more updates.