Kiss’ Gene Simmons tests positive for Covid-19

It comes days after Simmons’ bandmate Paul Stanley also tested positive for the virus

Kiss frontman Gene Simmons has tested positive for Covid-19.

The diagnosis was confirmed on Kiss’ social media page on 31 August, just days after Simmons’ bandmate, Paul Stanley, also tested positive for the virus.

The statement read: “Kiss will postpone their next few tour dates. While Paul Stanley recently tweeted that he had recovered from Covid-19, Gene Simmons has now tested positive and is experiencing mild symptoms.

“The band and crew will remain at home and isolate for the next ten days and doctors have indicated the tour should be able to resume on 9th September.”

The group have postponed four dates in total and have told fans new dates will be announced in time.

Last week, Simmons issued a public apology for comments made about Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth after he seemingly compared Roth to a “bloated, naked Elvis” in a recent interview.

Back in 2020, Roth opened for Kiss during the rock band’s End of the Road tour, before it was aborted due to the pandemic. The tour kicked off again earlier this month, but Roth was no longer featuring.

Simmons confirmed that he was no longer serving as the band’s support act in an interview with Rolling Stone.

“It bears noting that during Dave’s heyday, nobody did what he did,” said Simmons, describing Roth as once being “the ultimate frontman”.

“I don’t know what happened to him… something,” continued Simmons. “And you get modern-day Dave. I prefer to remember Elvis Presley in his prime. Sneering lips, back in Memphis, y’know, doing all that. I don’t want to think of bloated, naked Elvis on the bathroom floor.”

Roth responded to the interview on social media, repeatedly sharing a photo to Instagram of a child extending their middle finger, alongside the caption: “Roth to Simmons.”

Speaking to US Weekly, Simmons apologised for his remarks, saying: “I don’t mean to hurt people’s feelings, and every once in a while, diarrhoea of the mouth comes out.

“I read that quote, and somehow, the way they put it together, I think I said something like, ‘Nobody touched David in his prime. Not Robert Plant, not [Mick] Jagger. He was the king.’ Then somehow, there was a segue to, ‘Elvis, bloated on the ground, fat and naked,’ and ‘I don’t want to see that.’

“I wasn’t talking about David, but that doesn’t matter,” he continued. “What matters is I hurt David’s feelings, and that’s more important than the intent. So, I sincerely apologise for that.”