Using foul language is beneath Donny Osmond.
The 65-year-old “Sweet and Innocent” singer has revealed the endearing reason why he’s never uttered a single curse word — be it “crap,” “damn,” or just about any other profane term under the sun — in his entire life.
“Never,” he explained in a new PEOPLE interview. “Because I never heard my father curse.”
Osmond described his father George as a “tough” man, but one who “never swore,” no matter what — a personal decision the singer evidently took to heart. But just because he might not say them doesn’t mean Osmond can’t see the appeal of letting good curse words fly once in a while.
“Obviously, I still think the words!” he said. “There are certain people I would love to say certain words to at certain times, but I just think, ‘Be like your dad.'”
The Grammy winner got to experience his own proud dad moment recently after his son Chris placed third on ABC’s reality competition show Claim to Fame.
Throughout the season, Chris’ housemates struggled to identify his famous father (even if EW staffers’ moms totally knew), suggesting that he was related to Elvis Presley, Elton John, and Billy Idol before ultimately landing on Osmond. After Chris’ family connection was finally unveiled, Osmond congratulated his son on social media for his “amazing job” on the series in a message from him and all his fictional fathers.
“He made that show so interesting because no one could guess which celebrity he was related to. I’m proud of my son,” Donny wrote on Instagram. “Signed, Nicholas Cage. I mean, Elvis Presley. I mean, Jim Carrey. I mean, John Mayer. I mean, Elton John. I mean, Billy Idol. I mean, Little Richard. I mean, Ozzy Osbourne. I mean, Paul McCartney. I mean, John Travolta. I mean, Sting. I mean, Garth Brooks. I mean, Donny Osmond.”
Speaking with EW, Chris said his father was an avid viewer of Claim to Fame and found it hysterical that no one could piece together who his celebrity relative is.
“He can’t stop laughing about it. He thinks it’s hilarious,” Chris said. “It’s just funny because I feel like now I’m a little bit of the talk of the internet on the guy that got away and that all of his cult following, all of these moms, know who he is, but their kids just have no clue, so I think it was probably good press for him to show the younger generation who he is. But it was a big realization that he has such a strong following from the ’70s and they’re still with them to this day.”