GENE SIMMONS Urges KANYE WEST To Take His Medication And Surround Himself With 'Nicer People'

During a new appearance on "Piers Morgan Uncensored", KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons was asked if he thinks Jewish people should accept Kanye West's apology for his string of anti-Semitic comments throughout the past few weeks. The 73-year-old rocker, who is Jewish, responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, you've certainly put me in an awkward position. I'm not here to speak for Jews or the Jewish people or anything, although by birth I happen to be one — in fact, an Israeli. I have no choice in the matter; that's just the luck of the draw.

"Let me state in the interest of full disclosure: Ye-slash-Kanye and I have never met; we have never e-mailed each other," Gene continued. "I have no idea what's in his mind. All I know is what the media has shown me of him. And Ye [or] Kanye sounds, from everything I've heard, it's erratic behavior, from my point of view, respectfully, he sounds really wounded, he sounds hurt, so he's lashing out. I get it.

"Let's be clear about this: African-Americans have been tortured physically, mentally, culturally for decades, centuries, but you're talking to a people who've heard this story and have been tortured mentally, physically for thousands of years; it goes back to the Bible, which our people wrote and gave to the rest of you guys. So, you have to go back in history and get a sense of what all this means. You're talking about African-Americans and Jews. Jews have done well, let's be clear, because they worked for it. But don't kid yourself — racism, anti-Semitism exists right next to each other, and we're all victims in some way or the other by the ruling establishment, whoever and whatever they are; the consensus of the public. But look back at Martin Luther King. Do a little research — Google and Schmoogle. Who's standing right beside Martin Luther King in a dangerous march in Birmingham, along with Jesse Jackson and everybody else? You've got a rabbi holding a Torah. He's right there in the front, knowing full well when he goes back up north or on East Coast, he's gonna get tortured by people who have different points of views.

"First of all, African-Americans should understand that Jews understand the torture and the racism because [we've] been there [and] continue to be there," Simmons added. "Jews are not the most popular people on the face of the planet, but there are many other peoples, races and other peoples who get racism.

"So the only piece of advice that I have, as somebody in the peanut gallery… I'm not a doctor. I'm not a physician. I don't know much about Ye or Kanye. I've heard, I've got friends who are close enough and so on… If there's medication, I respectfully urge for the gentleman to take the medication. If he's surrounded by the wrong people, get some nicer people, because the most important thing, you have to realize is, when you're a billionaire — and God bless him for that. It's the majesty, the miracle of the American capitalist system. There we go — in a country full of racism, the capitalist system allowed you to become a billionaire."

This past Monday (October 17),West appeared virtually on NewsNation's "Cuomo" show to discuss the recent stances he's gotten backlash for, purchasing conservative social media app Parler and his mental health. During the 20-minute chat, the rapper, who now goes by the mononym Ye, made more anti-Semitic comments claiming that the "Jewish underground media mafia" has it out for him and that he doesn't "believe in" the term anti-Semitic.

In response to Kanye's "Jewish underground media mafia" claim, Cuomo fired back: "Look, there is no Jewish media, cabal, mafia. That is a figment of either your imagination or a projection of a prejudice. You may have had bad business dealings with people — it's about those people. It's not about their religion or faith. And I know that you're intelligent and understand that when you target people because of their faith, other people may do so the same."

West responded bluntly: "And I don't tolerate it as a black person. What you just said was that you're trying to say that there isn't a collective — over 50 percent of the executives and CEOs in Hollywood are Jewish. You can't tell me what to do or feel."

During his October 15 appearance on the "Drink Champs" podcast, West blamed "Jewish media" and "Jewish Zionists" for numerous alleged wrongdoings, saying that "Jewish people have owned the black voice" and that "the Jewish community, especially in the music industry… they'll take us and milk us till we die."

Earlier in the month, Kanye sparked criticism for wearing a "White Lives Matter" t-shirt to the showing of his collection at Paris Fashion Week. He wore the same shirt while attending 9-year-old daughter North West's basketball game.

This past March, Simmons said Kanye could use a "good bitch slap" because he was being an "a–hole" to his then-wife Kim Kardashian and her then-boyfriend Pete Davidson.

"At a certain point, if anybody misbehaves, a good bitch slap [works]," Simmons said.

Gene noted that he thinks Kanye is "a talented guy," but added that the rapper is also "out of his mind."

"It's serious stuff. This is your wife, the mother of your children," Simmons continued. "It's not childish. There's something clinically wrong with him, as he's admitted. It's a psychological problem."