Kelly Osbourne hits back at ‘cruel’ criticism over BRIT Awards appearance

Kelly Osbourne has hit out at trolls for 'kicking her while she's down' with cruel comments over her appearance at the BRIT Awards.

The 41-year-old daughter of Sharon and the late Ozzy Osbourne attended the star-studded awards ceremony on Saturday evening (28 February) in Manchester, alongside her mum.

Her rock and roll star father died aged 76 in July last year of a heart attack, after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019 and suffering from a number of other health issues.

The legendary singer was honoured with a posthumous lifetime achievement award at the BRITs, which Sharon and Kelly collected on his behalf during the ceremony.

However, following the event, Kelly was sadly inundated with negative comments online, with people criticising her appearance.

On Sunday (1 March), she posted on her Instagram Story on Sunday to 'defend herself,' issuing a message to her 4.4 million social media followers.

She wrote: "There is a special kind of cruelty in harming someone who is clearly going through something."

Kelly Osbourne has hit back at the cruel comments she got over her appearance at the BRIT Awards (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

The TV personality added, "Kicking me while I’m down, doubting my pain, spreading my struggles as gossip, and turning your back when I need support and love most.

"None of it proves strength; it only reveals a profound absence of compassion and character.

“I’m currently going through the hardest time in my life. I should not even have to defend myself. But I won’t sit here and allow myself to be dehumanised in such a way."

Kelly has previously posted about the criticism she has received on social media, and last week she shared a screenshot of negative comments beneath her Instagram post.

As per PEOPLE Magazine, one particularly horrific comment she shared a screenshot of read: “Looks like a dead body… She’s tooooo thin and fragile… Looks like she’s going to see her dad soon."

Sharing the comment on her Instagram Stories, Kelly wrote, "Literally can't believe how disgusting some human beings truly are! No one deserves this sort of abuse!

"This too shall pass, but like, holy f**k."

She also slammed online trolls for commenting on her body back in December in a video shared on Instagram.

Kelly and Sharon accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of Ozzy (Karwai Tang/Getty Images)

Kelly said at the time: "To the people who keep thinking they're being funny and mean by writing comments like 'Are you ill,' or 'Get off Ozempic, you don't look right.' My dad just died, and I'm doing the best that I can, and the only thing I have to live for right now is my family."

And during an interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan around the same time, Sharon explained: "She's not happy because she's lost her daddy, but she can't eat right now, she doesn't."

At the BRIT Awards, Sharon remembered her late husband as 'authentic, gifted and unpredictable', as his legacy to music was recognised during the ceremony.

Meanwhile, Kelly thanked the audience for loving her father 'as much as we do' and made reference to the football team supported by Ozzy, Aston Villa, as she said: “I hope I don’t disrespect Manchester by saying this, but up the Villa and Birmingham forever."