Kiss was pulled off the lineup of the upcoming Michael Jackson tribute concert in Cardiff, Wales, when it was pointed out that bassist and generally filterless person Gene Simmons had gone on record with some less-than-generous statements about the King of Pop following his death:
Some of Simmons’ harshest comments came last year in an interview with Classic Rock magazine. “Well, you know, where there’s smoke there’s fire,†Simmons said regarding accusations that Jackson abused young boys. “There’s no question in my mind he molested those kids. Not a doubt.â€
Concert organizers called Kiss’s invitation an “oversight†and said in a statement, “We fully agree that even though Kiss is a band Michael admired, we have no choice but to rescind our invitation to them to appear in our tribute concert.â€
In Simmons’s defense: Maybe he’s the sort of person who believes in separating the artist from the work. We’d suggest Jackson’s camp do the same, but then we’d have to ask the question, “Is Kiss art?†[AP]