Gene Simmons made quite the eyebrow-raising comment on live TV.
The KISS frontman, 76, took a trip to Washington, D.C. this week to advocate for the American Music Fairness Act, which would ensure musicians are properly compensated.
Simmons appeared on Atlanta-based Scripps News network to chat about his work with anchor Maritsa Georgiou.
But at the end of his on-air segment, the rocker shifted the conversation.
“Congratulations on your honor, sir. We appreciate you being with us. One of the founding members of Kiss,” Georgiou stated, to which Simmons replied: “Thank you so much. By the way, are you still modeling?”
The journalist looked surprised by the musician’s inquiry and simply asked: “What?’”
After repeating the question, Georgiou said, “Modeling? I don’t model sir.”
“Oh, I assumed,” Simmons, who tied the knot with Shannon Tweed in 2011, quipped.
Keeping the conversation professional and polite, Georgiou expressed: “Well I appreciate that. We appreciate your time. Enjoy your time in Washington. We’ll be watching you on the Hill tomorrow.”
Simmons signed off, wishing the news anchor “all the best.”
The KISS co-founder’s television appearance comes a year after he made headlines for his shocking scores and commentary on “Dancing With the Stars.”
In 2024, the rock legend — who recently received a medal at the Kennedy Center Honors — appeared as a guest judge for Hair Metal Night and left fans outraged.
Throughout the night, Simmons called “DWTS” pro Emma Slater “a beautiful woman” and said that contestant Chandler Kinney “fogged up my glasses” and that she “moved me, not just with your gyrations and such but with your beautiful face.”
He also told football player Danny Amendola and pro partner Witney Carson that he couldn’t figure out who was more “hot hot hot” between the two.
After the show, reality star Jenn Tran told the Post: “Not even the scores, but the commentary was crazy.”
Viewers quickly shared their distrain online, with one person writing on X, “@officialdwts don’t ever have @genesimmons guest judge ever again. Sexist comments … giving Phaedra a 5?! Totally uncalled for. I hope you apologized Witney as well.”
Another person commented, “@officialdwts What was up with Gene Simmons scoring being all over the place? Stick with guest judges that understand the dancing process and the scoring process. So looking forward to @MarkBallas guest judging next week.”
These days, Simmons has been dealing with the passing of his KISS bandmate, Ace Frehley, who died on Oct. 16 at age 74.
“If I have any regrets, my hand to God it’s that I sometimes — and I think we all go through this sometimes — wish we were smarter and better at trying to help Ace and Peter [Criss] have better lives,” he told People in November.
Without giving details, Simmons revealed that the band members were “guilty” of not addressing issues in order to avoid confrontation at times.
Frehley co-founded Kiss alongside Simmons, Paul Stanley, 73, and Criss, 79, in 1973. Frehley left the band in 1982.
He later rejoined KISS for a reunion tour in 1996 and remained in the band until 2002.
Criss ended up leaving in 1980 before reuniting with the group from 1995 to 2000.
From 2003 to 2004, the drummer came back for one final run.
“Let’s just continue doing the tour because you want to get through it for selfish reasons because it’s working, and the chicks, and the money, and you don’t want to ruin anything,” Simmons recounted to People. “Meantime, somebody who might be your brother is ruining their life by bad decisions.”
The heavy metal trailblazer said he wished he “would’ve practiced more tough love.”
