KISS' Gene Simmons is being sued for sexual battery
KISS co-vocalist and eclectic entrepreneur Gene Simmons is being sued for sexual battery by a woman who claims he groped her while she was working in the kitchen at one of his restaurants, as uncovered in documents by The Blast.
The existence of the new lawsuit—in which a woman identified only as Jane Doe is seeking unspecified damages from Simmons after the incident that reportedly occurred back in 2016—has been confirmed by Pitchfork.
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Per court documents, the woman was working as a dishwasher at one of the KISS musician’s Rock & Brews restaurants on opening night, Dec. 6, 2016. When Simmons walked into the kitchen work area, Doe reportedly agreed to take a photo with him. She claims she did not know who he was at the time.
When the woman moved closer to Simmons for the photo opportunity, he “reached over and forcefully placed his hand on her vagina, completely covering it,” per the court documents. Doe also says that, during his visit to the restaurant, Simmons acted “in a sexually charged manner” with other women. She claims that the KISS icon would touch other women’s hair and “tell them to unbutton their shirts.”
This isn’t the first time that Gene Simmons has been sued for sexual misconduct. Just one year ago, the musician “vigorously” denied another legal claim of sexual battery alleged by a female journalist that was eventually settled.
Prior to that claim, Simmons was reportedly banned from Fox News‘ New York City headquarters after “insulting and taunting female staffers.” Simmons’ group KISS recently announced a North American run of farewell tour dates.
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