What To Know
- Gene Simmons appeared before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee to support the American Music Fairness Act.
- During a Scripps News interview, Simmons made an awkward and inappropriate comment to anchor Maritsa Georgiou.
- Simmons recently reunited with Kiss bandmates at the Kennedy Center Honors following the death of guitarist Ace Frehley.
Kiss frontman Gene Simmons appeared in front of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee of Intellectual Property to advocate for the American Music Fairness Act (AMFA), radio stations pay royalties to performers, not just songwriters, for their music, highlighting it as a crucial step for artists’ fair compensation and supporting a long-overdue fix to a “legal anomaly” that benefits corporations but shortchanges creators.
However, during an interview with Scripps News anchor Maritsa Georgiou on Monday, December 8, about his appearance, Simmons steered the conversation in an unexpected and uncomfortable direction by asking the respected anchor about her “modeling.”
“By the way, are you still modeling?” asked Simmons.
“What?” replied a confused Georgiou.
“Are you still modeling?”
“Modeling? I…I don’t model, sir,” Georgiou responded during the uncomfortable exchange.
A true professional, Georgiou told Simmons she appreciated his time and would be watching him “on the Hill tomorrow.”
Simmons has been married to longtime partner Shannon Tweed since 2011. The two share two adult children and have been together for more than three decades. However, prior to their marriage, the rocker publicly boasted that he had slept with thousands of women, a claim he once repeated in interviews, including The Sun.
He has also made numerous controversial remarks over the years, including statements about women’s sexuality and their ability to use it for power. “Women have a choice,” he told the New York Post. “They can dress in potato sacks, [but] as soon as they pretty themselves up with lipstick, lift and separate them and point them in our general direction, they’re gonna get a response. Guys are jacka**es. We will buy them mansions and houses…all because of sex.”
Simmons recently reunited with his Kiss bandmates earlier this month at the Kennedy Center Honors. It was the first time the legendary band had gathered since the passing of original guitarist Ace Frehley.
