Sharon Osbourne (AP file)

Sharon Osbourne has publicly apologized to talent show sensation Susan Boyle after calling her "a hairy a**hole" and branding her "ugly".

The Osbourne family matriarch was far from complimentary about the Britain's Got Talent runner-up when she took to the airwaves for raucous U.S. radio programme The Opie & Anthony Show earlier this month.

During the chat, Osbourne slated Boyle for being hit with the "ugly stick" and joked the singer needs a "Gillette razor" for her face.

Now the America's Got Talent judge has taken back her harsh words. In a posting on her Twitter.com blog, she writes, "Susan Boyle is a lovely gracious woman and I took advantage of that by poking fun at her. I would never want to be responsible for hurting Susan and I must apologize for getting a cheap laugh at her expense."