Gene Simmons Settles Sexual Battery Case
The Kiss frontman was accused of groping the plaintiff and making “unwanted, unwarranted sexual advances” during an interview.
Gene Simmons has settled a lawsuit alleging sexual battery, gender violence, battery and assault against a female radio and television broadcaster, according to court filings.
Simmons and the plaintiff, identified as “Jane Doe,” announced to Los Angeles County Supreme Court Judge Daniel S. Murphy on July 2 their case had been settled. The terms of the settlement are unclear.
The parties will need to submit an official request for dismissal to end the lawsuit.
Simmons was originally sued in December for allegedly groping the plaintiff and making “unwanted, unwarranted sexual advances” during a Nov. 1 interview with Simmons and his Kiss bandmate Paul Stanley at their Rock & Brews restaurant at San Manuel Casino in Highland, California.
According to the lawsuit, Simmons repeatedly grabbed the plaintiff’s hand and “forcefully placed it on his knee and held it on his knee.” It also alleged the rocker “forcibly flicked/struck” the plaintiff’s throat, later providing an “incoherent explanation” for his behavior.
The suit also said that while posing for a promotional photograph together after the interview, Simmons “reached toward Plaintiff Doe’s buttocks and touched it.”
The plaintiff was identified in the documents as a “long-time on-air personality for a local rock station.”
“Defendant Simmons turned standard interview questions into sexual innuendos, which made plaintiff Doe extremely uncomfortable,” the suit read.
Her attorney, Willie W. Williams, told The San Bernardino Sun in an interview last year her client was “embarrassed and humiliated by the incident with Mr. Simmons” and “filed suit because she wanted to make a strong statement that this behavior is unacceptable and she wants to see an end to this type of behavior.
Kiss bassist Gene Simmons facing lawsuit alleging sexual battery during Southern California interview
Rock & Brews co-founder and Kiss bassist Gene Simmons was sued Friday by a local radio and television broadcaster who accuses him of making sexual advances and inappropriately touching her during an on-camera at the Rock & Brew restaurant at San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino on Nov. 1.
A radio and television broadcaster on Friday, Dec. 15, sued musician and Rock & Brews restaurant co-founder Gene Simmons, alleging Simmons made unwarranted sexual advances during an on-camera interview Nov. 1 at the restaurant’s San Manuel Casino location in Highland.
The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges the plaintiff, identified as “Jane Doe,” arrived with her crew at the restaurant, which was celebrating its recent expansion at the casino, to interview Simmons and his longtime Kiss bandmate and Rock & Brews co-founder, Paul Stanley.
According to the lawsuit, during the interview, which occurred on a couch in a designated “green room,” Simmons reached over and grabbed the woman’s hand and “forcefully placed it on his knee and held it on his knee.” The lawsuit states the woman immediately removed her hand from Simmons’ knee.
Simmons, the lawsuit states, continued his “unwanted, unwarranted sexual advances” by reaching for the woman’s hand again.
“Defendant Simmons turned standard interview questions into sexual innuendos, which made plaintiff Doe extremely uncomfortable,” according to the lawsuit, noting that Simmons grabbed the woman’s hand again, made a cooing sound and said she “must use lotion” before making another sexual innuendo. He then “forcibly flicked/struck” the woman in the middle of her throat, then provided an “incoherent explanation” for doing it after noticing the woman’s shock, according to the lawsuit.
The woman’s attorney, Willie W. Williams, would not reveal where his client worked. The lawsuit identifies her as a “long-time on-air personality for a local rock station.”
“My client is embarrassed and humiliated by the incident with Mr. Simmons,” Williams said in a telephone interview Friday. He said his client is not seeking publicity and wished to remain anonymous.
“She filed suit because she wanted to make a strong statement that this behavior is unacceptable and she wants to see an end to this type of behavior,” Williams said.
Following the Nov. 1 interview, the woman posed with Simmons for a promotional photograph. That’s when Simmons “reached toward Plaintiff Doe’s buttocks and touched it,” according to the lawsuit.
“Again, Plaintiff Doe kept her composure and discreetly moved away,” the lawsuit states. “They took the pictures, but Plaintiff Doe declined the invitation to ‘stay around.’”
The lawsuit also names as defendants: Rock & Brews Holdings, LLC., Rock & Brews Holdings, Inc., Rock & Brews, LLC., and Rock & Brews Franchising, LLC. It alleges sexual battery, gender violence, battery, and assault, among other allegations.
Rock & Brews spokeswoman Terry Wills couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Friday. Representatives for Simmons also could not immediately be reached.
The allegations come amid a spate of sexual abuse claims against some of the entertainment and news industries’ most powerful men, starting in October with movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, co-founder of Miramax films. It snowballed from there, with allegations becoming so numerous it spurred the #MeToo social media hashtag.
