KISS frontman Gene Simmons has built a career on being a dick, but his latest statements on depression have broken the dam on the ability for many to withstand his buffoonish ignorance.
In a recent interview on Songfacts.com, Simmons addressed suicide and depression in a grotesquely harsh light. When asked if he still keeps in touch with original KISS members who have previously left the band, Simmons dug his own PR grave:
“No, I don’t get along with anybody who’s a drug addict and has a dark cloud over their head and sees themselves as a victim. Drug addicts and alcoholics are always: ‘The world is a harsh place.’ My mother was in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany. I don’t want to hear f**k all about ‘the world as a harsh place.’ She gets up every day, smells the roses and loves life. And for a putz, 20-year-old kid to say, ‘I’m depressed, I live in Seattle.” F**k you, then kill yourself,” Simmons said.
Unfortunately for him, the timing of such comments couldn’t have been worse, as compassionate discussions on depression and suicide have come to the forefront of national dialogue following the recent suicide of beloved actor Robin Williams. The comedian had a long history of severe depression, which many believed contributed significantly to his passing.
Even more unfortunate is that Simmons wasn’t finished dropping the soulless sound bytes.
“I always call them on their bluff,” he continued. “I’m the guy who says ‘Jump!’ when there’s a guy on top of a building who says, ‘That’s it, I can’t take it anymore, I’m going to jump.’ Are you kidding? Why are you announcing it? Shut the f**k up, have some dignity and jump! You’ve got the crowd,” he said.
Simmons’ comments have been condemned by Australia’s Triple M radio, who have removed all KISS songs from their programming. They have also infuriated several of his peers, with Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx denouncing Simmons on his radio show, Sixx Sense.
“It’s pretty moronic because [Simmons] thinks everybody listens to him, that he is the God of Thunder. He will tell you he is the greatest man on earth, and to be honest with you, I like Gene. But in this situation, I don’t like Gene. I don’t like Gene’s words,” Sixx said. “There is a 20-year-old kid out there who is a Kiss fan and reads this and goes, ‘You know what? He’s right. I should just kill myself.’”
Sixx added, “For people who are depressed, there is a way out. There are many, many ways out. And I don’t want people to listen to an interview from a rock star, who’s telling you the only way out is out.”
In other words, no matter how idolized he is or has been, Gene Simmons is undeniably a massive douche asshole. You won’t be reading about him again on CraveOnline anytime soon.
