GENE SIMMONS: Celebrities Should Keep Their Presidential Choices Private

In a brand new interview with U.K.'s The Guardian, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons was asked if it's correct to say that he will vote for Donald Trump in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. He responded: "That's totally inaccurate. I've known the man over the years, but that doesn't mean I'm going to vote for him."

He continued: "To be quite honest, I wish celebrities would shut up: I don't like the idea of celebrities announcing who they're for and not for, because a number of their fans will be voting just because their favourite band said to do so. That takes away the honesty of the democratic process. I'm totally against advertising who I want to vote for, and I haven't made up my mind, quite honestly. Celebrities should shut up and keep it private."

Asked if he thinks there's a place for artists to speak up over issues such as North Carolina's discrimination law, Gene said: "I do — but that's not a political issue, that's a human rights issue. Discrimination of any kind ... Well, I don't agree with Donald Trump on his views on, say, Mexico – I would certainly speak up over the border."

Simmons, a former contestant on Trump's "The Celebrity Apprentice" show, recently told People magazine that he likes how the real estate mogul is shaking up the current presidential race.

"The important thing about Trump, and I'm not saying whether I'm voting for him, or Hilary [Clinton], or anybody else, is that he has changed the game," he said. "He doesn't want your money. This guy funds his own campaign, and he is going to say things that tens of millions of people actually say quietly because politically it's 'incorrect.'"