Gene Simmons has apologized for suggesting that “bad decisions” played a role in Ace Frehley‘s death.
Frehley, Kiss‘ founding lead guitarist, died in October after a September fall at his home studio. An autopsy declared the cause of his death to be accidental blunt force trauma.
Despite the fact that Frehley had repeatedly and proudly declared that battling his addiction issues and staying sober for the last two decades had helped him maintain an active touring and recording career, in a recent interview Simmons questioned the autopsy results.
“[Ace] refused [advice] from people that cared about him – including yours truly – to try to change his lifestyle,” Simmons declared. “In and out of bad decisions. Falling down the stairs — I’m not a doctor — doesn’t kill you. There may have been other issues, and it breaks my heart.”
However, as he did after criticizing the nature of Prince’s death in 2016 – declaring “How pathetic that he killed himself” – Simmons has now apologized for his comments about Frehley.
“On reflection, I was wrong for using the words I used. I humbly apologize,” Simmons wrote 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.”
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
After being reprimanded by his family and bandmate Paul Stanley for his 2016 Prince comments, Simmons offered the following explanation for his behavior: “I apologize — I have a long history of getting very angry at what drugs do to the families/friends of the addicts.”
Read More: 10 Most Demonic Gene Simmons Songs
Kiss at the Kennedy Center Honors
Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Peter Criss received the honors Saturday, Dec. 6 at the White House, and then were honored at a tribute show Sunday night.
Gallery Credit: Matthew Wilkening
