GENE SIMMONS Apologizes For 'Unintentionally' Offending Members Of FOX Team

Gene Simmons has issued a statement apologizing for "unintentionally" offending female staffers during his appearance on Fox News and Fox Business.

It was reported late last week that the KISS bassist/vocalist was banned for life from Fox due to lewd behavior following his appearance last Wednesday (November 15) on the right-leaning cable channels. The Daily Beast reported Simmons was on hand to promote his latest book, the financial self-help guide titled "On Power", on both "Fox & Friends" and "Mornings With Maria". Gene, who, during the "Fox & Friends" appearance, took the opportunity to aid meteorologist Janice Dean in her weather report, later on spoke frankly about the various sexual misconduct scandals in Hollywood.

Having previously boasted about his sexual appetite and decades of consensual conquests, Simmons said during the panel on "Mornings With Maria": "I'm a powerful and attractive man and what I'm about to say is deadly serious. Men are jackasses. And from the time we're young, we have testosterone. I'm not validating it or defending it. Guys need to be trained from their very, very young ages from their mothers and their loved ones that half the world's population are female, and they need to be treated with respect."

It was what allegedly happened once the cameras stopped rolling that got the KISS bassist banned from the network. Simmons was set to plug the book with FoxNews.com's entertainment division, when according to an unnamed Fox staffer, he barged into a production meeting, pulled open his red velvet shirt and yelled "Hey chicks, sue me!" — before "telling Michael Jackson pedophilia jokes, and then bopped two employees on the head with his book, making derisive comments about their comparative intelligence according to the sound their heads made when struck." The source was quoted as saying: "It was pretty severe."

Although Simmons went on to film the piece for Fox entertainment, it reportedly will not be aired.

Gene has since issued a statement apologizing for the incident, saying: "I have appeared frequently over the years on various Fox News and Fox Business programs and have a tremendous amount of respect for the talented women and men who work there. While I believe that what is being reported is highly exaggerated and misleading, I am sincerely sorry that I unintentionally offended members of the Fox team during my visit."

A while back, The Pulse Of Radio caught up with Paul Stanley and asked him how he feels about Simmons's highly opinionated beliefs and high-profile persona apart from the band. Stanley explained that Simmons is free to do whatever he likes — as long as it doesn't negatively impact KISS. "I think Gene has earned the right to do whatever he wants to," Paul said. "Gene certainly in all venues has the freedom and the right to do whatever he chooses, as long as it doesn't directly impact on anything that he's only part of. He's come away unscathed till now."