DANCING With The Stars guest judge Gene Simmons has been slammed for his “creepy” behavior on live TV yesterday.
Kiss frontman Gene, 75, joined Carrie Ann Inaba, 56, Derek Hough, 39, and Bruno Tonioli, 68, on the panel for the ABC show’s Hair Metal Night.
5
DWTS judge Gene Simmons has been slammed for his ‘creepy’ behaviorCredit: ABC
However, his appearance quickly drew backlash from viewers for his “inappropriate” feedback.
Throughout the night, Gene – who previously boasted about sleeping with over 5,000 women – made a series of sexually suggestive comments, which didn’t go down well with fans.
He seemed more focused on the appearance of the female dancers than on their performances, which led to widespread criticism online.
Gene’s comments included telling Danny Amendola, 38, and Witney Carson, 30, he couldn’t decide which of them was “hot, hot, hot” and calling dancer Chandler Kinney, 24, “beautiful”.
He went on to joke she’d “fogged up” his glasses, with her “gyrations”.
While many of his remarks were laughed off by the cast members, Witney looked visibly uncomfortable and grimaced.
Elsewhere, he gave model Brooks Nader, 28, and her dancer partner Gleb Savchenko, 41, a 10 because she’s “hot” too.
Gene went on to give Phaedra Parks, 50, a score of just five before changing his mind and submitting a nine at the last minute.
Host Alfonso Ribeiro, 53, also seemed uncomfortable with Gene’s behavior
After the singer made a remark about enjoying “the bad boy and the bad girl” during Phaedra Parks, 50, and 38-year-old Val Chmerkovskiy’s routine, Alfonso quipped, “Oh, now you care,” earning applause from the audience and fellow judges.
Fans were quick to voice their displeasure on social media.
In a Reddit forum, one asked: “Anyone else uncomfortable with Gene Simmons comments to the ladies so far?”
Someone replied: “yeah i feel so bad for all of the women tonight. Especially because they have to act professional and seem appreciative in the face of creepiness :(.”
Another added: “Based on Whitney’s expression I think she was a little creeped out 🙁 I feel for them.”
A fourth fumed: “gotta be the worst guest judge to date. I think his comments to chandler were the worst — and it just went on for SUCH an uncomfortable amount of time.”
One more chimed in with: “his judging is extremely inconsistent too.”
Over on X, formerly Twitter, a viewer joked: “Take a shot for every woman Gene hits on tonight,” with a second posting: “it’s only the first dance and i’m already over gene simmons being a creep.”
A third added: “I’m so sorry to all the #DWTS females Gene was so gross.”
The Lick It Up hitmaker’s behavior appeared to steal the spotlight from the contestants, with Reginald VelJohnson and Eric Roberts sent home in a brutal double-elimination.
Dancing With the Stars returns next Tuesday on ABC and Disney+ with Dedication Night.
5
His appearance quickly drew backlash from viewersCredit: Getty
5
Gene joined Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli on the panelCredit: Getty
5
Witney Carson looked visibly uncomfortable and grimacedCredit: ABC
5
Host Alfonso Ribeiro also seemed uneasy about Gene’s behavior