Kelly Osbourne Isn't Gonna Stop Saying What She Thinks
It doesn’t matter how much fire she comes under — Kelly Osbourne refuses to pretend she doesn’t have an opinion.
“Have you ever noticed how everyone just stands there and smiles in a really cute dress?” Osbourne asks me. “And I’m sorry, I’m not that person. And if you don’t want to hire me, don’t hire me because I’m not that person and you know what comes along with me.”
Osbourne was hired to host the 4th Annual NYX FACE Awards Show at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, which crowned Mykie of Glam&Gore as the Beauty Vlogger of the Year — and Kelly was her typical outspoken self both during and after the show. On stage, she was charming and self-deprecating, making fun of her foibles as she mispronounced names and joked about her beauty lineage, telling one contestant, “I’m a five, and you’re a 10. Trust me, I’ve got my father’s face.” Off stage, she was brazen, honest, and real… but what else would you expect from a woman who’s courted controversy for speaking her mind?
Lucky for us, Osbourne spoke her mind on a number of subjects, including what inspired her to host the show, her take on her personal style, the art of applying fake lashes, and why it sucks to be a famous person with an opinion.
Let’s talk about the awards. Why was it important for you to host the NYX FACE Awards Show?
You’re looking at — and this might sound cheesy, but you know how Michael Jackson said [breaking into song] “I believe the children are our future?” Like, this was the perfect example of that. There were six finalists tonight that each displayed beauty in a completely different way that was so acceptable and not what society deems as beautiful, but showed every single person in that room that it was beautiful. And to be a part of something like that where you can show uniqueness, independence, and self-esteem, and not have to follow trends and just be who you are regardless, I’ll be a part of anything like that. Because I’m not one for conformity, I’m not one that follows trends, I somehow manage to f–k them up, but that’s me.
My mom’s always been like, “You’re an anarchist!” I’m like, “No, I’m not!” I just don’t understand why that thing has to be beautiful, because I think everything is in its own way.“
Have you taken notes from any of the beauty vloggers?
Oh my god, I’ve done so much research. To me, with some of them – and I won’t say who, because it wouldn’t be fair – they stepped outside of their comfort zone, and if they’d have stayed in their comfort zone, I don’t know that they would’ve placed where they did. Because they were trying to prove that they could do something else, and we already knew that they could. The six finalists are unreal. I wanna work with all of them – I really do.
I was impressed by their work. I can’t even put fake lashes on!
Oh, I’ll teach you a really good trick. You get a Q-tip and you use it on the inner corner of your eye to hold the lashes in place, bend them around your eye, hold it in place at the outer edge for three seconds, let it go, pinch it down in the middle, and then it stays.
Really?
Yep — that was how I learned how to put them on.
I love it. You were a very charismatic host — it looked like you were having a lot of fun out there.
I was!
One of the things that touched me was how emotional you were getting with some of the contestants. What was it they were touching off in you?
Look, I don’t consider myself society’s version of beautiful because I’m not. I have a shaved purple Mohawk.
That’s badass, though.
Yeah, to some. But I’m also covered in tattoos and I have a foul mouth, and my mouth gets me in trouble all the time even though I have the most beautiful intentions. Because it’s not what people want to hear, it gets misconstrued. So I’ve struggled my whole life since the day I was born, not only because of who I was born from, but if I was just the way I am anyway. And I don’t want to be like anyone else. I don’t want to be the prettiest, the funniest, the smartest or the best at anything. I just want to be me. And just being me is a very, very big fight. And I saw that in every single person in that room tonight.
And I know what that feels like to feel different and unwanted and not beautiful and unaccepted and unoriginal when they are the basis and the fundamentals of what makes uniqueness and what creates beauty. And they’re standing up and saying, "Yes, this is who I am.” And to me, that is the definition of beauty.
Let’s talk about your mouth.
Yeah, it’s a big f–king mouth, and it gets me into trouble all the time. Especially when I don’t get to finish and somebody cuts me off.
You’d said that when you’re famous, you’re not allowed to have an opinion.
You’re not. Have you ever noticed how everyone just stands there and smiles in a really cute dress? And I’m sorry, I’m not that person. And if you don’t want to hire me, don’t hire me because I’m not that person and you know what comes along with me.
How do you deal with that both publicly and privately, being an opinionated person?
It sucks! It sucks, let me tell you. But you wanna know what? It makes me fight even harder so that people can see what’s really going on in the world and open their eyes. And if I can make a difference in one person’s life, that means more to me and I will take the f–king barrage of hate and death threats and f–king social media abuse because that doesn’t mean anything in the real world. It doesn’t. Sensationalizing and characterizing and labelizing will only ever kill you. All you can be is who you are.
Do you feel it has more to do with what you say, or how you say it?
I think it has more to do with selling magazines. People don’t notice that every time you click on a website, you’re making whoever hosts that website money. So they will twist things and they will turn things and they will make things into something that they are not so that you can click it, because they’re making money. They don’t give a s–t how that affects young women and young men in this world. They don’t care — they’re making money, and the world has changed in that sense. So people need to take the time to be more patient and do their research before they judge.
Do you think any of it has to do with you being a woman?
Everything has to do with me being a woman. Of course! I talk about this all the time — if a guy said it, it’d be like, “Oh my god, bro, you’re funny!” If a girl says it, it’s “C–t.” That’s just how it goes.
One last question: How do you describe and cultivate your personal style?
I don’t know how to be anyone else but me. I don’t try to be anyone else. It’s just me. Like it or not, take it or leave it. I expect most people to leave it. And that’s fine.
