Gene Simmons’ brash antics annoyed the wrong person. The Kiss frontman was banned from Fox News after employees complained about his rudeness. Is every man in Hollywood a predator in disguise?
Simmons, who identifies as a conservative despite his wild partying, appeared on Fox & Friends to talk about Harvey Weinstein, the sexual abuser whose scandals blew the lid off of one of Hollywood’s worst kept secrets.
“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,” Simmons joked.
“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.”
Simmons’ on-camera interview went well, but sources say that he began acting like a boor the moment he stepped off the set. He ripped his shirt open and bared his chest, crying “Hey chicks, sue me!”
The Daily Beast writes: “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.”
Simmons’ behavior was certainly rude, but he wasn’t exactly acting out of character. Networks are on edge because the sexual assault claims that are now streaming in every day. If a woman felt uncomfortable by Simmons’, she might claim that he was sexually harassing her, a charge that would reflect badly on Fox.
Here's @genesimmons reading his book next to me in the greenroom. @foxandfriends #onpower pic.twitter.com/jgy7zPOEQA
— Janice Dean (@JaniceDean) November 15, 2017
(Source: Daily Beast)