Gene Simmons of KISS has apologized for making questionable suggestions about former bandmate Ace Frehley’s death from a fall in October.
Simmons, 76, told the New York Post last week, “Falling down the stairs—I’m not a doctor—doesn’t kill you.” The bassist claimed that “there may have been other issues” at play because Frehley was “in and out of bad decisions.”
“You reap what you shall sow, unfortunately,” Simmons concluded.
But after pondering his comments for several days, Simmons expressed his regret.
“On reflection, I was wrong for using the words I used. I humbly apologize,” Simmons wrote Wednesday morning on X. “My hand to God i didn’t intended to hurt Ace or his legacy but upon rereading my words, I see how it hurt everyone. Again, I apologize. I’ve always loved Ace. Always.”
Frehly’s death at the age of 74 was due to an accidental fall in his Morristown, New Jersey home, the Morris County Medical Examiner determined. Frehley suffered a fractured skull, causing a stroke and a subdural hematoma.
In 1982, after about a decade in KISS, Frehley departed amid creative differences and embarked on a solo career. After a successful reunion tour with Simmons, Paul Stanley and Peter Criss, Frehley left the band for the final time in 2002.
In a 2019 interview with Guitar World, Simmons asserted that Frehley had been fired from the band three times “for drugs, alcohol, bad behavior, being unprofessional (and) not carrying their load.” Frehley strongly objected.
“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,” the guitarist wrote on social media.
“I was NEVER FIRED from KISS,” Frehley went on. “I quit twice (not three times) of my own free will, because you and Paul are control freaks, untrustworthy and were too difficult to work with!”
Frehley also accused Simmons of groping and propositioning his wife behind his back.
Frehley was posthumously given a Kennedy Center honor by President Donald Trump last week, with Simmons, Stanley and Criss receiving the award in person.
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