NEWSSharon Osbourne, Justin Bieber Fight Cancer
Feb. 25 2011, Published 12:07 p.m. ET
Sharon Osbourne gets a little love from Justin Bieber when they team up with Best Buy to auction off his costumes to benefit The Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program at Cedars-Sinai Hospital.
The married mom of three, 58, tells all about working with the Baby singer, why the diagnosis was the best thing that ever happened to her, why colon cancer turned her off to fast food and how she’ll celebrate this Oscar weekend.
For Sharon, working with Justin on the Best Buy commercial was a pleasure. The clip that aired during the Super Bowl will also get an Oscar viewing.
““It was a delight,” she tells me. “Because he’s a great young guy, he’s very, very professional. Very professional, does his thing -- no problems. That’s why he’s got to where he’s got because he’s a true professional.”
What does she think of his new ‘do?
“It’s great. He came on my show two days ago and it looks great. He’s older, he’s coming up 17 now and I think it’s a great look.”
She is grateful to have his support for a cause so dear to her heart.
For Sharon, being diagnosed with colon cancer in 2002 turned her life around.
“It’s when I became a real woman. It’s an amazing journey to go through and one that was enlightening for me. It was one of the best things that ever happened to me in my life. It was a great learning experience.”
Wait, being diagnosed with colon cancer was one of the best things that ever happened to her?!
“Yeah, because it makes you less selfish, less self-obsessed, and realize that I’m a very lucky person. The world that I’ve been living in is like a bubble and there are people out there who dedicate their lives to helping others. I’ve not been in that world before, and to work with great doctors and nurses and, too, other patients that are going through cancer… it’s a humbling experience and you grow from it.”
One area of her life altered by her colon cancer battle has been her diet.
“I was one of these people that lived on fast food,” she explains. “That was the way I was. From the minute you get up to the minute you go to bed, you’re fighting time. And it would be, ‘OK I’ll get up, and on the way to a meeting, I’ll go through a drive-thru, and then I’ll do this and that.’ And at 1:00 in the morning, I’d be having a milkshake. You just cannot do that.”
Indeed, diet was a key factor in the colon cancer diagnosis.
“All that dairy, all that bad food. I was a fast-food junkie and it is the worst thing that you can do to your body.”
Hm, what does she teach kids Aimee, Kelly and Jack about dieting?
“They learned from me that laughs it’s much easier to pick up a piece of fruit than it is to go through a drive-thru.”
With the Oscars taking place this weekend, Sharon is ready to paint the town.
“Every year, I go to the Elton John Oscar party,” she says. “You get to see the Oscars in a great environment and you’re helping charity. All the money, 100% of the money goes to Elton’s charities, and you’re with great people. It’s a great, fun event and at the same time you’re helping people that need help so it couldn’t be better.”
Hm, why is the Best Buy auction benefiting The Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program important to her?
“It’s so important to me because I can have my little charity that I should do a lot more for that I don’t and these are great pop memorabilia pieces,” she says. “Firstly, they were designed by an incredible company. These are the people who designed the outfits for Iron Man and Tron. Each outfit alone costs $30,000 to make and the fact that Justin and Ozzy wore them in the ad at the Super Bowl and also the ad appearing at the Oscars too. So they’re great memorabilia pieces and Best Buy was so giving by saying that I could have them and auction them for my charity. It’s an unbelievable opportunity for me.”
Best Buy is helping to raise funds in support of The Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program by hosting an online auction for the costumes worn by Pop/R&B sensation Justin Bieber and rock legend Ozzy Osbourne during the Big Game commercial for the new Buy Back Program.
The costumes feature Bieber’s and Osbourne’s autographs and are mounted with a descriptive plaque. They were designed by Legacy Effects, the production company behind the work of blockbuster hits such as Iron Man 2, Thor and Alice in Wonderland. The bids for each costume will start at $1,000.00 and will increase by increments of $100.00. Each costume is being auctioned separately. The virtual auction can be accessed through Best Buy’s Facebook page under the Buy Back program tab.
