Kelly Osbourne Jokes That Drugs and Alcohol Protect Her from Cancer

Kelly Osbourne knows that her family history leaves her predisposed for some cancer diagnoses, but she joked that her past may help her out.

Speaking on the latest episode of “The Osbournes Podcast,” which dropped on Tuesday, June 4, Osbourne, 39, said her past drug and alcohol use has left her “pickled.”

“I’m hoping that I’ve embalmed myself so I don’t ever get cancer,” she quipped. “I’m pickled from all the drugs and alcohol, for sure.”

Her younger brother, Jack Osbourne, replied, “I don’t think it works that way. But I’m no doctor.”

Thankfully, the Osbournes’ guest for the episode was emergency room physician Dr. Greg, who was able to dash any hopes that Kelly might have been right. He added, with some sarcasm, “I, for one, have never heard of substances you put into your body causing ill effects of any kind.”

Kelly admitted that “that apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree,” and that her mother Sharon Osbourne’s history leaves her in a vulnerable position.

Sharon battled colorectal cancer in 2002 and underwent a preventative double mastectomy in 2012. As a result, Kelly says she has been getting screened for colorectal cancer as well.

Kelly has been open about her drug and alcohol addiction in the past, saying in a 2021 interview on Red Table Talk that staying sober is a constant battle for her. Her addiction began when she was only 13 and was prescribed an opioid to help recover from surgery.

Related: Stars Who’ve Gotten Sober

Several of Hollywood’s biggest stars have been candid about their sobriety journeys over the years. Kelly Osbourne, who previously talked about being sober for six years, revealed in April 2021 that she had suffered a relapse and was working on next steps. “Not proud of it. But I am back on track,” she wrote via […]

“I kept getting sick and I had a really bad case of tonsillitis, they ended up having to give me some crazy surgery, and then after that, they gave me Vicodin,” she said. “And that was all I needed.”

She continued, “I went from having every voice in my head being like, ‘You’re fat, you’re ugly, you’re not good enough, no one likes you, you don’t deserve this, people only like you because of who your parents are.’ And then all of a sudden, every single voice was silenced and it felt like life gave me a hug.”

“And then very quickly I went from Vicodin to Percocet, from Percocet to heroin eventually, because it was cheaper,” she said.

Kelly first checked into rehab in 2004 but has suffered multiple relapses in the time since. She shared with Extra that “[addiction] is something I am going to battle for the rest of my life. It’s never going to be easy.”