Inviting KISS frontman Gene Simmons to join Dancing with the Stars as a guest judge on a night spotlighting the greatest Hair Bands of the ’80s seemed like a no-brainer until he opened his mouth.
Unfortunately, the 75-year-old superstar didn’t get the memo that he was there to be supportive and motivating. Instead of focusing on foxtrots, tangos and jives, he spewed “creepy” and offensive comments about competitors’ physical attributes, especially women.
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After the opening routine, he told former NFL star Danny Amendola and Witney Carson he couldn’t figure out which of the two was more ‘hot hot hot,’ but quickly denied comments from the audience that he might “go both ways.”
Fans in the ballroom responded with boos and social media erupted with fans on X (formerly Twitter) calling him the worst guest judge in Dancing with the Stars history.
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Despite somewhat positive comments, he consistently awarded lower scores to Black contestants, sometimes even lower than regular judges. For example, he gave Phaedra and Val a 5 when Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli each awarded the duo across the board 7s. (Historically, guests are less critical than regular judges.)
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Some laid the blame on DWTS for inviting Simmons onto the show in the first place: “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!”
And yet others called for the return of formal judging á la the late Len Goodman. We cannot imagine how he would have reacted to Simmons’ commentary.
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The off-color comments may not have come as a surprise to those who have followed Simmons’ previous rants.
When he was booted from Celebrity Apprentice in 2008, he defended Donald Trump.“People pick on him, I’ve certainly done my fair share,” he told Parade at the time. “But, I think the truth is people misunderstand conviction as arrogance.”
Following the death of Robin Williams a decade ago, Simmons made and later apologized for offensive comments about mental health and suicide.
In his 2017 memoir/self-help tome, On Power: My Journey Through the Corridors of Power and How You Can Get More Power, he proclaimed that women should choose between a career and a family.
“It’s natural to want to have kids, but, sorry, you can’t have it both ways. You have to commit to either career or family. It’s very difficult to have both.”
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As you can imagine, he has drawn a fair amount of criticism through the years but the rock legend doesn’t seem to mind.
“I would say there are some —could be a large number, could not—who think I’m an asshole,” he recently said on the podcast Really Famous With Kara Mayer Robinson. “I’m OK with being labeled or thought of as an asshole, because I know who I am.”
And now Dancing with the Stars fans do too!
Next, Eric Roberts on Why It Took Him 19 Years to Appear on Dancing with the Stars
