Gene Simmons of US rock group Kiss performs live on stage, for a one-off Independence Day show as a fundraiser for the Help for Heroes charity. Photo / Getty Images
Gene Simmons of US rock group Kiss performs live on stage, for a one-off Independence Day show as a fundraiser for the Help for Heroes charity. Photo / Getty Images
KISS bassist Gene Simmons has come out against people unvaccinated against Covid-19, declaring them "the enemy" in a heated radio interview.
The glam-rock superstar, who is credited for helping sensationalise rock music to cringe-worthy new heights in the 1970s, has long bragged about sleeping with 5000 groupies during his time on the road.
But now aged 72, Simmons appears to have turned a page, becoming an advocate for public health amid America's Covid-19 crisis.
Speaking on Thursday in an interview with "TalkShopLive", Simmons said he believed unvaccinated civilians to be "delusional".
"If you're willing to walk among us unvaccinated, you are an enemy," the frontman said. "I don't care about your political beliefs."
KISS was forced to cancel tour dates earlier this year when he and fellow bandmate Paul Stanley tested positive with apparent "breakthrough cases" of coronavirus after being vaccinated. Sadly, a guitar tech for the group reportedly died from the virus.
"You are not allowed to infect anybody just because you think you've got rights that are delusional," Simmons continued, comparing taking the vaccine to stopping at a traffic lights.
"You don't have the right to go through a red light – actually the government has the right to tell you to stop. If they tell you you can't smoke in a building, you can't smoke in a building.
"And that's not because they want to take away your rights – that's because the rest of us hate it. We don't want to smell your smoke."
The years of spitting blood across the stage appear to now be long behind the famed rock bassist.
"I don't want to catch your disease," Simmons continued. "I don't want to risk my life just because you want to go through a red light. This whole idea, this delusional, evil idea that you get to do whatever you want and the rest of the world be damned is really terrible.
"For God's sakes, if I'm going to yawn in your presence, I'm going to put my hand up in front of my mouth," he said. "Yawning is not a life-threatening event. You having Covid might be a life-threatening event, and I don't want to catch it."
In regards to politics at home, Simmons voiced his disdain for both the Republican and Democratic parties in the US, calling for "humanism" to be the main focus throughout the pandemic.
Gene Simmons has made his view on people who are anti-vax pretty clear. Photo / Getty Images
"I don't like either one of them. Politics are the enemy. Humanism and humanity is what we should all be concerned about. Love thy neighbour as thyself," Simmons said.
Simmons took a veiled swipe at unvaccinated NFL star Aaron Rodgers, who attracted attention this week after testing positive.
"I don't care if you play football or not – stay away from evil people who don't care about your health," Simmons concluded.
According to the Australian Government Department of Health website, "there isn't enough information from research to understand whether people who have been vaccinated can pass the virus on to others".
"But the vaccine will help protect you from getting really sick," the website says. "Without the vaccination we could draw out the pandemic, contribute to a rise in cases, and give the virus more opportunities to mutate."
However, according to Christopher Byron Brooke at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, current vaccines "absolutely do reduce transmission".
"Vaccinated people do transmit the virus in some cases, but the data are super crystal-clear that the risk of transmission for a vaccinated individual is much, much lower than for an unvaccinated individual," he said, via NewScientist.
