Gene Simmons has responded to allegations that he sexually assaulted a female reporter last month.
"I intend to defend myself against any alleged charges you may have been reading about in the media," Simmons said in a statement to Ultimate Classic Rock. "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."
The woman, identified in court filings as “Jane Doe,” alleges Simmons made unwanted sexual advances during and after an interview on Nov. 1 at his Rock & Brews restaurant at the San Manuel Casino in Southern California.
She is suing for sexual battery, gender violence, battery and assault.
According to the lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Simmons reached over and grabbed the woman’s hand and “forcefully placed it on his knee and held it on his knee” during the interview.
The Kiss rocker allegedly continued “unwanted, unwarranted sexual advances,” according to the lawsuit.
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“[He] turned standard interview questions into sexual innuendos, which made plaintiff Doe extremely uncomfortable,” the lawsuit alleges. Simmons allegedly “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.
Following the interview, the reporter posed for a photo with Simmons and, she claims, he touched her buttocks.
“Again, Plaintiff Doe kept her composure and discreetly moved away,” the lawsuit reads. “They took the pictures, but Plaintiff Doe declined the invitation to ‘stay around.’”
In his statement, Simmons said: "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."
Simmons, 68, is married to Newfoundland native Shannon Tweed.