KISS singer and bassist Gene Simmons better watch out because there’s about to be a Beyhive chasing him. The 72-year old Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer is about to embark on the final KISS tour ever. Dubbed End Of The Road Tour, it’ll send the heavily-costumed metal band around the world from South America to Sacramento throughout 2022. Simmons sat down with ET for a lengthy interview, to talk about the band’s stamina and longevity, and took a shot at Beyoncé in the process.
In comparing what KISS does to modern-day stars, Simmons fails to see the pitfalls of his thinking. He seems to think that today’s artists wouldn’t be able to hang with the demands on the body that face paint and body armor that looks straight out of a Raiders game can take on the body. He singled out Beyoncé and a couple of other artists in the process:
“You got to understand — we love Jagger [Mick] and Bruno Mars and Bono and anybody else, they’re all great,” Simmons told ET‘s Kevin Frazier. “But if you put those guys — Beyoncé, put Beyoncé in my outfit with seven to eight-inch platform heels, dragon boots that each weigh as much as a bowling ball, the entire outfit, studs, leather and armor is about 40 pounds. The guitar and the studs is 12 pounds by itself. Then, you got to spit fire, fly through the air and do that for two hours. They would pass out within a half hour.”
Something tells me Simmons hasn’t seen Homecoming and the multiple costume changes Beyoncé goes through in the middle of her Coachella performance. Not to mention the grueling rehearsal schedule she went through for that and oh..she was coming off of a difficult pregnancy as well. It probably bears mentioning that the press rounds Beyoncé has had to endure throughout her career are no walk in the park either. And look, while she might not be wearing face paint that makes her look like a demon or a cat, Beyoncé’s make-up has never been anything but perfect and that takes time to achieve itself.
In speaking of 50 years of performing with KISS, Simmons added that “We work hard at it. No drugs, no booze, no smoking. None of that stupid rock and roll stuff. I hike almost every single day…” Which is commendable, but it makes his comments on Beyoncé just seem a little misguided. Memo to Gene Simmons: As the great Omar Little once said, “Come at the King [Queen], best not miss.”