Another gross display of harassment perpetrated by a high-profile personality. This time, it’s Kiss frontman Gene Simmons.
Simmons, a frequent guest on Fox News and Business programming, has been permanently banned from the Manhattan headquarters and all of its bureaus after he ran around the offices on Wednesday morning, insulting and taunting female staffers and reportedly saying “Hey chicks, sue me!” while pulling open his red velvet shirt to show his chest and stomach.
According to The Daily Beast, which first reported the story, Simmons also allegedly touched a number of employees, made derogatory comments about their intelligence and joked about Michael Jackson and pedophilia.
Fox News confirmed to TVNewser that Simmons has indeed been permanently banned from the building.
This all went down on the 14th floor after the 68-year-old Simmons (birth name: Chaim Witz), appeared on Fox & Friends, and then on Maria Bartiromo’s Fox Business morning show, Mornings with Maria, to promote his book. He was on 14th floor to do a FoxNews.com interview when he started harassing employees.
Simmons gave Janice Dean a minute off to do the weather on Fox & Friends.
Later, Simmons provided his views on the Harvey Weinstein scandal during an appearance on Mornings With Maria.
“Okay, I’m a powerful and attractive man, and what I’m about to say is deadly serious,” he said. “Men are jackasses. From the time we’re young we have testosterone. I’m not validating it or defending it.”
Simmons’s photograph was posted Wednesday at the security entrance of the company’s Manhattan headquarters along with a “do-not-admit” note.
Kiss was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, but Simmons won’t be honored by Fox anytime soon.
UPDATE: TVNewser received the following statement:
I have appeared frequently over the years on various Fox News and Fox Business programs and have a tremendous amount of respect for the talented women and men who work there. While I believe that what is being reported is highly exaggerated and misleading, I am sincerely sorry that I unintentionally offended members of the Fox team during my visit.– Gene Simmons