03/12/2026
Gene Simmons says stars should 'shut up' about politics – 'Nobody cares'
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Gene Simmonsthinks Hollywood stars should kiss their political activism goodbye.
The KISS rocker, 76,told TMZon March 10 celebrities should quit talking politics and keep their opinions to themselves.
"Everybody in the world should listen to what actors and comedians say, because they're so qualified," he quipped sarcastically before adding, "Do your art and shut up! Nobody's interested in your opinions. That includes me! Who I vote for, who I like."
He continued, "People in America work hard for their living, and they don't want to be lectured to by people who live in mansions and drive Rolls-Royces. It's time for everybody in the entertainment industry to shut their piehole and just do your art. Nobody cares what you think. I don't."
Kiss rocker Gene Simmons'life on and off the stage
Simmons made the comments in the man-on-the-street interview after TMZ asked for his thoughts onBen Stillerrecently calling outPresident Donald Trumpand asking the White House to remove "Tropic Thunder" footage from a social media video tied to the Iran war. "We never gave you permission and have no interest in being a part of your propaganda machine," Stiller wrote on X. "War is not a movie."
Rock legends Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss formed the band KISS in 1973 in New York. In 2023, Simmons chatted with USA TODAY about the final band's days: "It's complex. I can sit here in my hotel room and wax poetic about all of this stuff, but those are matters of the mind, the semantics emanating out of my oral passage. You can talk about something but until you're there, the matters of the heart don't kick in. There is an enormous sense of pride the band has, including Tommy (Thayer) and Eric (Singer), who have been with us more than 20 years. We're enormously proud of what we did."" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> KISS pose on Westminster Bridge in London at the start of their first ever European tour in 1976. The band members are, from left to right: Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, Ace Frehley and Gene Simmons." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Paul Stanley and Ace Frehley, members of the heavy metal band KISS, perform at the Cumberland County Memorial Auditorium in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Dec. 27, 1976." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Gene Simmons of KISS spits fire during a performance at Cumberland County Memorial Auditorium in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Dec. 27, 1976." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Paul Stanley performs during the KISS concert at Corpus Christi's Memorial Coliseum on Jan. 19, 1984, in Texas. This was the band's first tour without their signature makeup." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> KISS guitarist Paul Stanley and bassist Gene Simmons perform July 19, 1996, at Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> KISS members perform at Memorial Coliseum in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Feb. 24, 1986." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> KISS performs at GreenVille Memorial Auditorium in South Carolina, on July 1, 1979." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> KISS performs at GreenVille Memorial Auditorium in South Carolina, on July 1, 1979." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> KISS performs at GreenVille Memorial Auditorium in South Carolina, on July 1, 1979." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Gene Simmons waves his top-knotted hair and stuck out his famous tongue, a lot, at his fans packing Municipal Auditorium Jan. 30, 1983, in Nashville." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> KISS performs at Rochester Community War Memorial in Rochester, New York, in 1986." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> KISS performs at Rochester Community War Memorial in Rochester, New York, in 1986." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Members of KISS pose for photographers in the photo room at the 38th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 28, 1996. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Paul Stanley, lead singer for the rock group KISS, holds up a Pl***oy Magazine, in which the band has a spread, with the other members of the band on Jan. 29, 1999, during a press conference in Miami, Florida." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Paul Stanley of KISS during a pregame performance at Super Bowl 33 on Jan. 31, 1999, in Miami Gardens, Florida." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> KISS perform at the HSBC arena in Buffalo, New York, on June 24, 2000." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Gene Simmons grabs lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots Scott Weiland as they arrive at the "My VH1 Music Awards" on Nov. 30, 2000." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Gene Simmons and his wife, Shannon Tweed, arrive at the world premiere of Warner Bros. "Swordfish" on June 4, 2001." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Paul Stanley jokes with former bandmate Gene Simmons and his girlfriend Shannon Tweed as they arrive at the premiere of the new film "Rock Star" in Los Angeles on Sept. 4, 2001." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> (L-R) Russell Simmons, Paul Stanley of KISS, Carole King, Gene Simmons of KISS and Peter Criss of KISS receive awards at the Hero Awards on Dec. 4, 2001, at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Gene Simmons autographs and promotes his book "Kiss And Make-up" in Century City, California, in Jan. 8, 2002. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> KISS performs during the closing ceremonies for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in California on April 19, 2002." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> KISS bassist Gene Simmons mingles with Pl***oy founder Hugh Hefner during the Tongue Magazine Fall 2002 Issue release party featuring covergirl Carrie Stevens on Sept. 27, 2002, in West Hollywood, California." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Gene Simmons and his son Nick arrive at the premiere of "Shanghai Knights" at the El Capitan Theatre on Feb. 3, 2003, in Los Angeles, California." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Gene Simmons holds his new book at a release party on June 26, 2003, in New York City." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Joe Perry encounters Gene Simmons of the band KISS backstage prior to Aerosmith's show at Meadow Music Theatre on the first night as they tour together in 2003." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Paul Stanley and his family at the after party for MGM's "Agent Cody Banks II" at the Hammer Museum on March 6, 2004, in Westwood, California." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Paul Stanley performs live during the 2004 Rock the Nation World Tour at the Rod Laver Arena on May 13, 2004, in Melbourne, Australia." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Adam Lambert and Paul Stanley perform onstage during the "American Idol" season 8 finale at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on May 20, 2009, in Los Angeles, California." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp poses with Gene Simmons before the game between the Dodgers and the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium on July 5, 2011." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Gene Simmons of KISS poses for a portrait in 2017 in New York City. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Members of the rock band KISS: Paul Stanley (The Starchild, center), Gene Simmons (The Demon), Eric Singer (The Catman) and Tommy Thayer (The Spaceman) in 2017." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> The band KISS, including Eric Singer, shown here, perform in Indianapolis on Nov. 25, 2023. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and Tommy Thayer of KISS are lowered to the stage at the KFC Yum Center in Louisville, Kentucky, on March 12, 2019." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Gene Simmons of KISS entertains the crowd at the KFC Yum Center on March 12, 2019." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Eric Carr of KISS entertains the crowd at the KFC Yum Center on March 12, 2019." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Gene Simmons of KISS entertains the crowd at the KFC Yum Center on March 12, 2019." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> KISS performs during their End of The Road world tour at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, on March 13, 2019." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> KISS performs during their End of The Road world tour at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, on March 13, 2019." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Tupac Shakur and KISS present the best pop performance by a duo or group award at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 26, 1996." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> The band KISS, including Paul Stanley, shown here, brings The End of the Road World Tour to Grainbridge Fieldhouse on Nov. 25, 2023." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> KISS on tour in 2023." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> The band KISS, including Tommy Thayer, shown here, brings The End of the Road World Tour to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Nov. 25, 2023. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> KISS band member Gene Simmons with Potawatomi dancers on Sept. 1, 2023." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> KISS goes on tour in Indianapolis on Nov. 25, 2023." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Fans dress in full KISS regalia as the band brings The End of the Road World Tour to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Nov. 25, 2023." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
KISS rock 'n' roll moments with Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss
Rock legends Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Crissformed the band KISSin 1973 in New York. In 2023, Simmons chatted with USA TODAY about the final band's days: "It's complex. I can sit here in my hotel room and wax poetic about all of this stuff, but those are matters of the mind, the semantics emanating out of my oral passage. You can talk about something but until you're there, the matters of the heart don't kick in. There is an enormous sense of pride the band has, including Tommy (Thayer) and Eric (Singer), who have been with us more than 20 years. We're enormously proud of what we did."
In his TMZ interview, Simmons also called outMark Ruffalo, who is known for his outspoken liberal beliefs and criticism of Trump. "What does Mark think about politics? I don't care," Simmons said.
This isn't the first time Simmons has made similar comments about stars getting political. Ahead of the 2016 election, hetold Yahoo Musicthat entertainers should focus on entertaining.
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"I really believe democracy doesn't work well when celebrities butt their heads into places they don't belong," he said, adding, "I'd like to think people that are voting are voting their conscience and for that reason I don't think people should care who Gene Simmons is voting for."
Gene Simmonsspills on solo tour, future of KISS: 'The avatars are just a placeholder'
Speaking to CNN in December, Simmonsalso said thathis political views are nobody's business.
"Since when is who I support or not support the business of anyone except my conscience?" he asked, arguing it's "insanity" that "anybody cares" what a guy "who sticks his tongue out" for a living has to say about politics.
Simmons and his fellow KISS stars Paul Stanley and Peter Criss werehonored during the Kennedy Center Honors ceremonylast year, hosted by Trump. Simmons, who once appeared on "The Celebrity Apprentice," had previously been critical of the president.
"Look what that gentleman did to this country and the polarization — got all the cockroaches to rise to the top," heSpin magazine in 2022. "Once upon a time, you were embarrassed to be publicly racist and out there with conspiracy theories. Now it's all out in the open because he allowed it."
He added of Trump, "I don't think he's a Republican or a Democrat. He's out for himself, any way you can get there. And in the last election, over 70 million people bought it hook, line and sinker."
In 2012,Simmons told Noisecreepthat he regretted voting for formerPresident Barack Obamain 2008 and was "very disappointed" in the job he had done in office. He argued at the time thatMitt Romney, Obama's Republican opponent in the 2012 election, was "much more qualified."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Gene Simmons says celebrities should stop talking politics
March 12, 2026 at 07:12PM via ShowBiz
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