Sharon backtracks, says Osbournes will do two more seasons

News of the death of MTV’s ”The Osbournes” is greatly exaggerated, even though it comes from Sharon Osbourne’s own mouth. On Monday, ABC released a transcript of Barbara Walters’ interview with Sharon, which is to air Wednesday on ”20/20,” in which Sharon says the combined pressures on her family of life in a media fishbowl and her own colon cancer treatment are too much for the Osbournes, and that they’ll pull the plug on the show after the coming season. But late in the day, Sharon and MTV contradicted the interview, with Sharon issuing a statement saying the Osbournes would live up to their contract to shoot at least two more 10-episode seasons. ”I have every intention of fulfilling our commitment to MTV for a full 20 episodes,” she said in a statement. ”I love my MTV.”

Explaining the metal matriarch’s backtracking, MTV president Van Toffler told the New York Times, ”Sharon Osbourne is an uncontrollable and volatile entity, which is one reason why her family is so entertaining. It’s something I’m accustomed to.” He tells E!, ”She was probably having a difficult time and she was venting in the moment.” (In fact, the interview was taped five weeks ago, on Sept. 28.) Asked how she responded when he asked her yesterday about the Walters interview, Toffler told E! she said, ”You know you can’t believe everything I say.”

In other Osbournes news, the foul-mouthed family has signed on to host ABC’s telecast of the American Music Awards on Jan. 13. (AMA producer Dick Clark has quipped that the live broadcast’s censors are already having nightmares.) Daughter Kelly Osbourne is releasing her debut CD, ”Shut Up,” on Nov. 26, the same day that ”Osbournes” season two begins on MTV. And the DVD set of season one will be out on March 4, complete with unbleeped dialogue and a drinking game. Though with Ozzy ”hitting the bottle again” (as Sharon puts it on ”20/20”), maybe an ”Osbournes” drinking game isn’t such a good idea.