Ace Blasts Gene: ‘The Gloves Are Off’

Founding Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley posted a scathing Facebook message to Gene Simmons on Tuesday, alleging that Simmons’ statements about Frehley’s alcohol abuse over the years cost him millions and that Simmons had groped his wife. After the allegations, he included a threat: “Without a complete and heartfelt apology, an offer to give me my old job back and removing Tommy [Thayer, guitarist] from the throne I created, the shit will hit the fan and they’ll [sic] be no stopping it. It’s on!!!” He concluded the post with an image of him pointing at a camera emblazoned with the words, “The gloves are off!!

The post is an apparent response to an interview Gene Simmons gave Guitar World, in which Simmons said he was not sure yet if he would invite Frehley and original drummer Peter Criss on the group’s upcoming End of the Road Tour. “Ace and Peter have gotten three chances,” Simmons said, according to Blabbermouth. “They were in and out of the band — fired — three times. For drugs, alcohol, bad behavior, being unprofessional … they weren’t carrying their load. … So the short answer to your question is we’d love to have Ace and Peter join us here and there. And if they don’t, it’s not going to be because of us. But they’re never going to be in Kiss again.”

Regarding his last statement, that they’d never be full members, Simmons added, “Three times is the charm; ‘I promise I’ll pull out’ doesn’t work. It’s the boy who cried wolf: ‘Oh, I’ve been straight for a million years.’ Terrific! Have a good life! … Would we welcome Ace or Peter to jump up onstage for a song or two? Of course. Could we depend on either Ace of Peter to do a full set night after night? Not on your fucking life.”

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