PAUL STANLEY Wonders If ELON MUSK Could Have Solved World Hunger Instead of Buying Twitter

KISS frontman Paul Stanley has publicly questioned whether Elon Musk could have helped end world hunger with the $44 billion he bid to purchase Twitter.

If the deal officially goes through, it will make Musk — the Tesla and SpaceX founder and the world's richest man — the new owner of the social media site that hosts more than 200 million users.

Earlier today, Stanley took to his Twitter account to share a Reuters news story about the acquisition, and he included the following message: "I May Be Missing Something (please tell me). Rather than funding a personal acquisition, Wouldn't our world be better advanced by using far less than 44 BILLION DOLLARS to eradicate world hunger?, cure cancer? The list is long & the possibilities endless."

A few other notable rock musicians were in apparent disagreement with Paul, with SHINEDOWN guitarist Zach Myers chiming in: "Paul … you're probably one of my favorite people I've ever toured with But A. Telling citizens what to do with their money isn't our job B. Even with 44 trillion. You're not ending world hunger."

Ex-JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim "Ripper" Owens was equally unconvinced by Paul's take, writing: "Well he is selling Teslas, but I'm sure they won't be buying those now either. It's cool you live in a 1 bedroom 800 square foot house and most of your money goes to fixing world hunger. That's awesome. Instead of fans buying any of your stuff give it to charity instead".

Meanwhile, SACRED REICH frontman Phil Rind weighed in: "These people don't care. Does anyone need a $500M yacht? Do people need $100M homes? These guys don't even want to let their workers unionize because they might have to pay them fairly. World hunger? Homelessness? Those are other people's problems. All power to the people".

Last October, David Beasley, the director of the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP),told CNN that it would only take "$6 billion to help 42 million people that are literally going to die," and that billionaires — citing specifically the world's two richest men, Musk and Jeff Bezos — need to "step up now, on a one-time basis." When the CNN article was shared on Twitter, Musk responded that he would sell Tesla stock if the WFP could provide a plan to end world hunger for $6 billion. But Beasley later clarified that he never meant Musk could actually solve world hunger with such a donation, but that the money could have definitely helped millions. "$6B will not solve world hunger, but it WILL prevent geopolitical instability, mass migration and save 42 million people on the brink of starvation," Beasley tweeted.

Stanley's reaction to the news of Musk's Twitter purchase is in sharp contrast to that of his KISS bandmate Gene Simmons, who tweeted on Thursday in response to the acquisition: "Fantastic news, at the outset. @elonmusk is now the proud owner of @twitter. Free speech, important. But, Hate speech, factual misinformation (lies) should not be part of Free Speech, in my humble opinion. Good luck to Elon."

After one fan responded that free speech means "it's either all of it or none of it", Gene fired back: "You're talking out of your ass. You do not have the right to stand up in a movie theater and yell FIRE, just because you feel like it. That's Incitement To Riot. You know that, right?"

Musk, who has called himself a "free speech absolutist," has said that Twitter could champion freedom as a private company. Opponents to the acquisition have theorized that Musk will allow users on the platform to spread misinformation and hate speech under the guise of protecting free speech.