Gene Simmons is taking a lot of heat for his recent comments. Some radio stations have even chosen to ban KISS music. Simmons has apologized.
The controversy was sparked over comments Simmons made to Songfacts.com: "Drug addicts and alcoholics are always, 'The world is a harsh place.' My mother was in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany. I don't want to hear f**k all about "the world as a harsh place." She gets up every day, smells the roses and loves life. And for a putz, 20-year-old kid to say, 'I'm depressed, I live in Seattle.' F**k you, then kill yourself."
Saturday, Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx commended Simmons but went on to take issue with his "cocksure and pompous" take on depession:
I wanted to take a moment to address the media thats been picked up by everybody from Rolling Stone, Los Angeles Times, NME, Billboard and many more around Gene Simmons comments telling depressed people to kill themselves. I also want to address and compliment Gene for publicly apologizing. That was 100% the right thing to do. This has turned into a bit of an anti-Gene Simmons bashathon and I don’t condone that nor do I support that radio stations across the country who are banning Kiss (the guys in the band didn’t do anything). Gene said something that has been addressed and maybe in a moment of bravado he was just being cocksure and pompous?
Out of everything in my life that’s has gone array either from my own action’s or others I try to learn a lesson. There is good in everything. What I know is this. When people are listening we have an opportunity to pass along some valuable and positive information.
Since I have had my own struggle with addiction and depression I have been exposed to both sides of the process. Its not as simple as we are lowly addicts or morally incapable of pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps, doing the right thing or just snapping out of it. The process involves hard work and hopefully some form of a support team (family, friends etc) around you. That could mean therapy, rehab, 12 step programs or sometimes-even medication. It’s better than the alternative. Trust me..
Nikki went on to list a lot of stats showing the prevelance of depression in the U.S. You can read them on his Facebook page.
-Spencer