Gene Simmons is criticized by ‘Dancing With The Stars’ fans for ‘creepy’ comments and harsh results

In celebration of Hair Metal Night on Dancing with the starsOn October 8, ABC invited KISS frontman Gene Simmons as a guest judge. However, by the end of the two-hour broadcast, some fans felt that the ’80s icon not only had nothing to do with his scoring, but also made comments that fans found “creepy” and offensive.

While giving feedback to former NFL stars Danny Amendola and Witney Carson, Simmons noted that he couldn’t decide which of the two was “hotter, hotter, hotter,” rating the pair a nine while the other judges gave them Gave sevens.

“It’s only the first dance and I’m already over Gene Simmons being a creep #DWTS,” wrote X user @alltoochey. User @eli_sorianosal commented under the post: “Whitney looked so uncomfortable too.”

Throughout the show, Simmons repeatedly commented on the physical appearance of the contestants, particularly the women. He told actor Reginald Johnson that he has “a beautiful woman right next to him who can twist and turn anything and knows how to move it,” referring to his partner Emma Slater.

Simmons also told actress Chandler Kinney that she “fogged up my glasses,” adding that the 24-year-old “touched me – not just with your movements, but with your beautiful face.”

After the show, Chandler’s partner Brandon Armstrong opened up US Weekly how he reacted at that moment. “I said, ‘Wait a minute.’ I have two little sisters. I heard it. I said, ‘Wait, wait, wait.'”

Some social media users want ABC to apologize for inviting Simmons as a guest judge. “ABC needs to apologize after Gene Simmons was involved and their cast was subjected to this. Why didn’t a producer tell him to break up? #DWTS,” suggested X user @sambothehambo01.

Aside from the inappropriate comments, viewers also took issue with his scores, which were all over the place and looked lower among the black and Asian contestants. Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli, for example, awarded reality TV stars Phaedra Parks and Val Chmerkovskiy seven points each, while Simmons gave the duo a five. Former Bachelorette Jenn Tran received eight points from the other three judges, while Simmons said, “Don’t hate me” before giving her a seven.

The rock singer’s grades did not reflect the feedback he gave Tran or Parks after their respective dances. He told Parks and Chmerkovskiy that he was “a big fan of the bad boy and bad girl dynamic” in their routine and commented to Tran, “Besides being beautiful, you deliver.”

“Gene Simmons definitely rates the dances based on how hot his racist ass thinks the women are. Absolute disaster for ABC. Someone’s getting fired tonight. #DWTS,” added @themainmuse.

Simmons also tried to give models Brooks Nader and Gleb Savchenko the first 10 of the season, but he had already secured a nine earlier, so the 10 didn’t count.

“If Gene doesn’t think the woman is hot, she gets a low score. Get this man off my screen. Isn’t there a reason why he tried to give Brooks a ten and THE Phaedra Parks a five? #DWTS,” user @shelbykvosburg chimed in.

Unfortunately, Simmons is no stranger to making controversial comments over the years. In his book, On Power: My Journey Through the Corridors of Power and How You Can Get More Power, he argued that using sexuality was still the fastest route to power for women.

“Women have a choice,” he told the Post in 2017. “They can dress in potato sacks, (but) once they get pretty with lipstick, pick it up, part it and point it in our general direction, they do.” Will get an answer. Boys are idiots – we buy them mansions and houses. . . all because of sex.”

He also told the Post that women cannot have children and be working parents at the same time. “Overcome your biological urges,” Simmons said. “It’s natural to have children, but unfortunately you can’t have both. You have to commit to either career or family. It’s very difficult to have both.”

It seems very unlikely that ABC will invite Simmons back to the show after this. Luckily, fans are relieved about this DWTS Alum Mark Ballas will be the guest judge next week.

DWTS airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+. Episodes will be available to stream the next day on Hulu and ABC.com.