UPDATE TO BELOW STORY.......................
Gene Simmons stands behind his criticism of the Dancing With the Stars participants Tuesday while a guest judge on the ABC show during hair metal night.
He tells The Daily Mail, "All media is clickbait. I stand by every word I said. I had a great time. The contestants were great. The show was great. Watch the show. It was a lot of fun. But media? Everybody's got something to say. Watch the show. It was a lot of fun. Everybody had a great time."
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Gene Simmons has never been everyone's cup of tea, and that now applies to fans of Dancing With the Stars.
He was a guest judge Tuesday night on the ABC show, the theme of which was hair metal, and some viewers weren't enamored with his comments.
Among the complaints logged on social media were:
- "You can really tell that this guest judge is racist and sexist based off the scores that he's giving! This is absolutely ridiculous and disgusting. Shame on you guys for having him as a judge!"
- His critiques were "creepy,” with his focus on how the dancers looked rather than how they danced.
- “Shame on Gene Simmons for treating this like a beauty pageant. Never have him on the show again. EVER. He ruined it. Gross.”
- “What was up with Gene Simmons scoring being all over the place? Stick with guest judges that understand the dancing process and the scoring process.”
- "Hey Gene! Just wanna remind you that this is a dancing show, NOT a beauty contest. Respectfully never come back please..."
- "Gene Simmons count your days. Weird and gross comments all night."
After actor Reginald VelJohnson and his partner Emma Slate did a cha cha to Twisted Sister's "I Wanna Rock," Simmons said, "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 show kicked off with Simmons being introduced to KISS's "Rock and Roll All Nite."
Other songs providing the evening's soundtrack were Quiet Riot‘s “Cum on Feel the Noise,” Scorpions‘ “Rock You Like a Hurricane,” Poison’s “Nothin’ but a Good Time,” Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again,” Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way,” Warrant’s “Cherry Pie,” Europe’s “The Final Countdown,” and Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “You Give Love a Bad Name.”