Kiss: Ace Frehley Calls Gene Simmons “an Asshole and a Sex Addict”
I was visiting my 95-year-old Aunt Sadie at her retirement community in Florida recently when one morning she got into a nasty war of words with her neighbor over whether that night’s activity would be Euchre, canasta, or Mahjong. And while you might think an old lady fight couldn’t do much damage, those old broads could die any time, and therefore have nothing to lose, which means things got vicious and but fast! It seems like we went from talking early bird specials to having the local rent-a-cop hose the two down in a matter of seconds.
I tell you this story you can prepare yourself for the nasty online catfight that has begun between Gene Simmons and Ace Frehley. You look at these two and you think their main concern is probably making sure their dentures don’t fall out in the middle of a public appearance, but no, they still have time to hold the grudges they first formed back around the time Man discovered how to make fire.
The troubles began when Guitar World asked Gene about the odds of Ace and Peter Criss returning to Kiss for the band’s upcoming second farewell tour. (For the three of you who don’t know: Kiss currently employ Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer to ostensibly ‘play’ Ace and Peter, complete with Spaceman/Cat Dude getup.) True to form, history’s second-best Gene Simmons nixed the idea using the cruelest possible language:
“’Ace and Peter have gotten three chances,’ [Simmons] said. ‘They were in and out of the band — fired — three times. For drugs, alcohol, bad behavior, being unprofessional … they weren’t carrying their load. … So the short answer to your question is we’d love to have Ace and Peter join us here and there. And if they don’t, it’s not going to be because of us. But they’re never going to be in KISS again.’
“He added: ‘Three times is the charm; ‘I promise I’ll pull out’ doesn’t work. It’s the boy who cried wolf: ‘Oh, I’ve been straight for a million years.’ Terrific! Have a good life! … Would we welcome Ace or Peter to jump up onstage for a song or two? Of course. Could we depend on either Ace or Peter to do a full set night after night? Not on your fucking life.’”
Well, Space Ace was understandably miffed to read Gene’s comments, so he took to social media to fight back:
“My Reaction to Gene’s Post Today
“…Gene, your memory is really incorrect!…I was NEVER FIRED from KISS, I quit twice (not 3-times) of my own free will, because you and Paul are control freaks, untrustworthy and were too difficult to work with!
“…Your slanderous remarks about my bad habits over the years has cost me millions of dollars and now that I’m over 12-years sober you’re still saying I can’t be trusted to play a whole nights show! Well that’s exactly what I’ve been doing for the last 12-years with different configurations of ‘The Ace Frehley Band’ to you and Paul’s dismay!
“…I’m also the most successful solo artist to come out of the original KISS lineup , and proud of it!…You and Paul have tried to derail my solo career multiple times over the years unsuccessfully.
“…I’ve tried to be nice and friendly by inviting you and Paul to perform on my past albums for eOne Music, give each of you guys one of my prized Gibson Les Paul 59’ models, but today’s comments have made me realize you’re just an asshole and a sex addict who’s being sued by multiple Women, and you’re just trying to sweep it all under the carpet!
“…The icing on the cake was when you groped my wife and propositioned her in Los Angeles at the Capitol Records building behind my back, when I was trying to help you out at one of your ‘Vault Experiences’ which I only found out about several weeks later…she was planning on pursuing a suit against you, but I told her to call it off!!!
“…Well now the gloves are off after your terrible comments today and I’m thinking that this really may be ‘The End Of The Road Tour’ for you guys!!!
“….Without a complete and heartfelt apology, an offer to give me my old job back, and removing Tommy from the Throne that I created… THE SHIT WILL HIT THE FAN AND THEY’LL BE NO STOPPING IT-IT’S ON!!!”
Me-OW! This kitty has claws!
I assume Ace’s demands will not be met, which means we may very well get more of this back-and-forth in the future. I can’t imagine what scandalous information Ace is sitting on that could actually derail Kiss at this point, ’cause I think Kiss fans care about Gene Simmons being an asshole the way Trump supporters care about Trump being an asshole (i.e., they do not care), but I’d still be interested to hear all about it.
Meanwhile, I expect Paul Stanley will issue a statement of his own just as soon as he learns what the Internet is or they publish this story in Reader’s Digest, whichever comes first.
[via Metal Insider]
