Kiss’ Gene Simmons is in the news but not for his music. He was sued for sexual battery according to an article in Pitchfork, which mentions a woman, identified in the complaint only as Jane Doe, claims she was working as a dishwasher at one of Simmons’ Rock & Brews restaurants. She claimed that after agreeing to take a photo with Simmons in the kitchen where she was working, he “reached over and forcefully placed his hand on her vagina, completely covering it.”

The complaint also alleges that Jane Doe saw Simmons behave “in a sexually charged manner with other women.” Specifically, she claims she saw Simmons touch other women’s hair and “tell them to unbutton their shirts.”

Back in 2017, separate allegations poured out against Simmons from an on-air personality. A broadcast journalist who wished to remain anonymous filed the suit against Simmons over alleged behavior towards her during a November 2017 radio interview.

The suit was filed December 15th, 2017 in the Superior Court of California. According to the plaintiff,  ‘Jane Doe’ met with Simmons at an undisclosed radio station on November 1st. It was there that she talked with Simmons about his restaurant, Rock & Brews. During the interview, Simmons allegedly kept touching her hand and trying to place it on his knee, made sexual innuendos, flicked her throat, and grabbing her butt while taking promotional photos together.

Jane Doe’s attorney, Willie W. Williams expressed the reason the anonymous reporter filed the suit in the first place, according to mxdwn, “She filed suit because she wanted to make a strong statement that this behavior is unacceptable and she wants to see an end to this type of behavior.”

It was over 40 years ago when Kiss released their self-titled debut album in February 1974. Simmons became the driving force behind what became an extensive Kiss merchandising franchise. The eye section of his “Demon” makeup with Kiss came from the wing design of comic book character Black Bolt. In 1983, the members took off their trademark make-up and enjoyed a resurgence in popularity that continued into the 1990’s.

In recent news, guitarist Ace Frehley reunited with the band after 17 years and performed with them during the annual Kiss Kruise that departed from Miami, Florida on Halloween night. Frehley commented before the song, “Nothin’ to Lose.” saying, “This is great… this is so great. Thank you guys for inviting me up.” Kiss lead singer and rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley claimed, “All this couldn’t have happened if we hadn’t happened. We started this. So thank you for being here.”

Photo Credit: Gary Moratz