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Gene Simmons Settles Sexual Battery Suit Filed by Radio Broadcaster

Gene Simmons Settles Sexual Assault Suit

Gene Simmons has settled a sexual battery lawsuit with a woman who accused the Kiss bassist of sexual assault, according to court documents obtained by The Blast. The settlement amount has not been disclosed.

In December, Simmons was sued by an unnamed broadcast journalist who accused him of touching her inappropriately during a November 2017 radio interview with Simmons and Kiss frontman Paul Stanley at their Rock & Brews restaurant in Highland, California. The reporter, identified in the suit as “Jane Doe,” accused Simmons of repeatedly touching her hand and “forcefully” placing it on his knee, flicking her throat, and grabbing her butt when they posed for a promotional photograph. The complaint stated that Simmons offered an “incoherent explanation” for his behavior.

“Defendant Simmons turned standard interview questions into sexual innuendos, which made plaintiff Doe extremely uncomfortable,” the suit stated.

“My client is embarrassed and humiliated by the incident with Mr. Simmons,” Doe’s attorney, Willie W. Williams, told The San Bernardino Sun in December. “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 did not disclose his client’s identity, saying only that she was an on-air radio personality.

Simmons denied the allegations in a statement to Spin in December:

“I intend to defend myself against any alleged charges you may have been reading about in the media. For the record, I did not assault the person making these accusations in the manner alleged in the complaint or harm her in any way. I am conferring with my lawyers with the aim of vigorously countering these allegations. And, I look forward to my day in court where the evidence will prove my innocence.”