Gene Simmons has commended women for finally opening up about their experiences with sexual harassment/assault in the wake of allegations of misconduct by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
Since the Weinstein story broke, about one in five Americans said they had seen their friends or family post stories about sexual harassment on social media, according to a CNN poll. Using the hashtag #MeToo, they told their stories. It soon became clear just how common this sort of thing is.
The KISS bassist/vocalist, who once claimed to have bedded nearly 5,000 women during his lifetime, was asked in an interview with SiriusXM Patriot‘s “The Wilkow Majority” on Thursday (November 16) if he could be the Gene of 1977 in 2017 without any fear of being accused of inappropriate behavior.
“My mother raised me right,” Gene said. “You know, I was a jackass all my life, because rockers are not necessarily the best role models, so I wandered all the time — anywhere, everywhere, any opportunity. And God bless [Gene‘s wife] Shannon for sticking by my sorry ass and raising two great kids. And so finally, at 62, I married her. But my mother gave me the right ethics and morality: treat women with respect. And I don’t wanna get into this kind of, ‘No, trust me, I’m a good guy.’ Actually, I am. Treat women with respect. Have a sense of humor. Sometimes you can say something sort of ‘off color,’ as they say. But it’s up to women. You will only get the respect you demand.”
He continued: “You’ve gotta tip your hat to women as a whole for finally standing up and saying, ‘Enough!’ Because guys are not gonna stand… ‘Oh, you want the vote, huh? You know what? We should be kind of civilized and say, ‘Yeah, you should have the vote.” No, it never happened. The only way women got the vote is because en masse, they stood up and said, ‘We want the vote and we’re gonna fight for it.’ And right now what’s happening is a revolution. Women are standing up together and saying, ‘Enough is enough. You are not allowed to verbally or otherwise abuse us.’ And good for them. Again: women will only the respect and power they demand.”
Via Blabbermouth.com