Gene Simmons Apologizes for Comments on Ace Frehley’s Death
Well, it was only a matter of time before this happened, and I’m surprised it took this long. Over this past weekend, we reported how Kiss frontman Gene Simmons opened his mouth and said some really dumb shit about his former bandmate Ace Frehley, who unfortunately passed away October 16. Simmons told the New York Post how Frehley’s “bad decisions” are what led to his death, but as of this morning (Wednesday, December 10), he’s apologized for it.
He posted the following on Twitter (X, but I still refuse to call it that):
“On reflection, I was wrong for using the words I used. I humbly apologize. My hand to God I didn’t intended to hurt Ace or his legacy but upon rereading my words, I see how it hurt everyone. Again, I apologize. I’ve always loved Ace. Always.”
Backtracking on such comments is hella cringe, since they shouldn’t have been made in the first place. If you don’t remember exactly what Simmons told the New York Post, here’s a refresher:
“He refused [advice] from people that cared about him — including yours truly — to try to change his lifestyle. In and out of bad decisions. Falling down the stairs — I’m not a doctor — doesn’t kill you. There may have been other issues, and it breaks my heart. The saddest thing — you reap what you shall sow, unfortunately. It breaks my heart.
“Peter Criss, our founding drummer, Paul [Stanley] and myself went to the funeral, open casket. It was just heartbreaking. Saddest of all perhaps is that Ace just couldn’t stay alive long enough to sit there proudly at the Kennedy Center and listen to — I can’t even tell you who’s going to come out … really impressive people, just to say how much KISS meant to them. What can you say — sad.”
What I said when I first wrote about this still stands: The strong gust of wind could take a 74-year-old out, so imagine what stairs could do.
Let’s call a spade a spade—Gene, what the fuck was up with that? Insensitive? You betcha, but I’m sure Ace, wherever in the cosmic plane he may be, knows you didn’t mean it the way it came off. Hopefully he knows, at least.
