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What did the Kiss frontman do to receive a lifetime ban from the entire network?

Gene Simmons Banned from Fox News After Sexist Outburst

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Gene Simmons is currently on a press tour in promotion of his new book On Power. Please take a look at the book’s description from Harper Collins, its publisher, before continuing any further in this article:

YOU DESERVE TO HAVE POWER.

IT IS YOURS FOR THE TAKING.

GENE SIMMONS IS HERE TO UNLOCK THE DOORS TO THE TEMPLE.

Gene Simmons, KISS front-man, multi-hyphenate entrepreneur, and master of self-invention, shares his philosophy on power—how to attain it, how to keep it, and how to harness it as a driving force in business and in life.

As co-founder of KISS, America’s #1 gold record-award-winning group of all time, Simmons knows the thrill and seduction of power firsthand. But gold records alone don’t equal power. The decisions you make once you attain a certain level of success are what separate the pretenders from the pantheon.

Allow that to sink in for a moment.

With that in mind, there’s no question that Simmons’ outburst at Fox News headquarters earlier this week was a calculated effort to demonstrate the concepts in his book: he was, quite literally, demonstrating power on set. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that.

Except when exercising power comes at the expense of demeaning several women, which is exactly what happened when Simmons unwittingly demonstrated everything that’s wrong with the power dynamic between men and women in America. When Fox News — of all organizations! — bans someone for sexist behavior, you know the problem is really, really bad.

Here’s how it went down: according to The Daily Beast, Simmons visited Fox’s facilities to conduct several interviews with various shows and properties within their family of networks and publications to promote his new book. The Beast reports that “Things seemed to be going well enough when Simmons jumped up from the Fox & Friends couch to help meteorologist Janice Dean do her weather report,” thereby exercising his power to do whatever the fuck he wants and commandeer the situation. Would Simmons have attempted the same if the weather reporter had been male? Difficult to say, but for the time being let’s give him the benefit of the doubt… because what happened next was way more heinous and clearly sexist.

Later, on the Fox Business Network show Mornings with Maria, host Maria Bartiromo asked Simmons what he thinks of the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal. Here is his response:

“The lunatics have taken over the insane asylum when respected business entities such as yourself ask guys that like to stick their tongues out what I think of Harvey Weinstein.”

Fair point, except that “guys that like to stick their tongues out” also happen to be, in this case, extremely powerful men. It’s why you’re on the fucking TV show to begin with, jackass. That excuse might’ve worked better if the man in question were less powerful (a member of Gwar, for example), but even then it’s dubious.

He continued:

“Okay, I’m a powerful and attractive man, and what I’m about to say is deadly serious. Men are jackasses. From the time we’re young we have testosterone. I’m not validating it or defending it.”

EXCEPT YOU ARE LITERALLY BOTH VALIDATING IT AND DEFENDING IT with your comment about testosterone! “Oh, we can’t help it, we powerless men are just subject to our damned hormones!” How about just stop at “Men are jackasses?” That would’ve been plenty. As would have appending “and behavior by men like Weinstein is inexcusable” to the end of it.

But it gets even worse:

“According to a knowledgeable Fox News source, Simmons showed up on the 14th floor to do a book-plugging interview with FoxNews.com’s entertainment section, but instead barged in on a staff meeting uninvited.

“‘Hey chicks, sue me!’ he shouted, and then pulled open his red velvet shirt to reveal his chest and belly, according to the source. Then he starting telling Michael Jackson pedophilia jokes, and then bopped two employees on the head with his book, making derisive comments about their comparative intelligence according to the sound their heads made when struck.

“’It was pretty severe,’ the source said.”

I sincerely hope we do not have to explain why shouting “Hey chicks, sue me!” and telling pedophilia jokes is offensive. But hey, it’s all fine because it’s just good ol’ Gene demonstrating the very concepts detailed in his book, right? Right??

If all that’s not enough to convince you that Simmons is a sexist piece of shit, this isn’t the first time he’s has been accused of wielding his power over women in an offensive manor. In an interview with the New York Post last week, he said women who seek to balance a career and family should “get over their biological urges.”

Following that story, RT host Tabetha Wallace shared a story of direct harassment from Gene:

Fuck this guy forever and always. Not that he wasn’t already a walking colostomy bag.

At least today’s story has somewhat of a vindicating ending: Simmons has now not only been banned from the building, but he will no longer be permitted on any Fox News or Fox Business Network programming for allegedly the rest of his life. Simmons’ photo was even posted at the security entrance to Fox’s Manhattan headquarters with a strict “do not admit” policy. The network has been friendly towards him in the past, so hopefully this one stings extra hard.

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