KISS legend Gene Simmons has been slammed for comments he made last night as a guest judge during “Hair Metal Night” on hit competition TV show Dancing With the Stars.
This week’s episode featured pairs of contestants performing choreographed dance routines to some of the biggest and most popular hits of the hair metal era. The opening sequence even featured a cameo from Whitesnake guitarist Joel Hoekstra playing a smoking guitar to a cover of KISS’ “Rock and Roll All Nite.”
Dancing With the Stars — Hair Metal Night Opening
All-timers by Poison, Warrant, Twisted Sister, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, Scorpions, Aerosmith, Europe and Quiet Riot were among the tunes that were selected.
And while Simmons wasn’t a fixture of the hair metal era, his ultra celebrity status and notorious rocker persona makes him an obvious candidate for a guest appearance.
But what did he say that has others lashing out? We’ll break that down, as well as the responses, below.
Some of Gene Simmons’ Comments
The panel of judges score the routine on a scale of one to 10 and Simmons was booed by the studio audience multiple time for doling out scores that felt off-center.
It’s been noted that Simmons’ feedback was more concentrated on physical appearances rather than the execution of the dance routine. And despite giving one tandem (Phaedra Parks of The Real Housewives of Atlanta and Val Chmerkovskiy) a score of five out of 10 — two points lower than the other two judges — the KISS icon offered little critique.
He later awarded a perfect score to another dancing tandem (model Brooks Nader and Gleb Savchenko) and seemingly upset viewers when telling 72-year-old actor Reginald VelJohnson of Family Matters and Die Hard fame (via Blabbermouth):
Hey Reggie, you’ve got a beautiful woman right beside you who can twist it and turn it and knows how to move it and all that. But I want to tell you, as a guy that’s been on the stage for half a century around the world, I’m kind of a big deal, Reggie. It’s all in the attitude. And you’ve got something in that beautiful face. They love you.
The producers actually amended Simmons’ score and bumped it from 10 to nine.
This unbalanced and perceived biased approach reaped negative comments from viewers.
READ MORE: Gene Simmons Recalls the First Time KISS Did Their Makeup
Viewers Slam Simmons Over Remarks
Simmons’ consistent remarks about the physical appearance of women contestants and low scores were called out my countless viewers on social media.
Below is a sampling that reflects a much denser condemnation of the KISS rocker following his Dancing With the Stars appearance as a celebrity judge.
Many called him “creepy” and felt his attitude was misogynistic.
One person quoted Simmons’ commentary of, “You have a beautiful woman beside you” with a GIF of a man screaming, “Shut the fuck up!”
Other viewers called out the low scores and the perfect 10 they felt was not deserved.
And it looks like some are hoping to never see Gene Simmons back on Dancing With the Stars ever again.
Women Who Pioneered Hard Rock + Heavy Metal
These women pioneered hard rock and heavy metal many decades ago.
Note: Each individual member in the band photos counts toward the total number.
Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner
