TED NUGENT Says PAUL STANLEY 'Hit The Nail On The Head' With His Comments On Gender-Affirming Care

Ted Nugent says that Paul Stanley "hit the nail on the head" with his thoughts on best-practice medical care for minors.

In a tweet on Sunday (April 30) titled "My Thoughts On What I'm Seeing," the KISS guitarist/vocalist wrote that he is concerned about children being given access to gender-affirming care. "There is a BIG difference between teaching acceptance and normalizing and even encouraging participation in a lifestyle that confuses young children into questioning their sexual identification," he wrote.

He added that adults "may decide reassignment is their needed choice," but said that children should not be eligible for gender-affirming surgeries and procedures. "Turning this into a game or parents normalizing it as some sort of natural alternative or believing that because a little boy likes to play dress up in his sister's clothes or a girl in her brother's, we should lead them steps further down a path that's far from the innocence of what they are doing," he wrote.

Closing his statement, Stanley claimed that too many parents were confusing "teaching acceptance with normalizing and encouraging a situation that has been a struggle for those truly affected and have turned it into a sad and dangerous fad."

Ted addressed Paul's comments during the latest edition of "The Nightly Nuge", a news-style clip in which Nugent offers his take on the news of our world every night. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, Paul Stanley, number one, has a work ethic. And the industry and the world never really celebrates the incredible work ethic that James Brown taught us, the hardest-working man in show business. And KISS, and certainly Paul and Gene [Simmons], and all the guys, they have an incredible, fire-breathing, animal, unstoppable, indefatigable work ethic. And so when you work your ass off to put your heart and soul into being the best that you can be, providing the greatest products you can possibly come up with, the greatest performances every night, when you have that kind of logic-driven life, then logic will surface in other ways. And Paul Stanley just unleashed some beautiful logic.

"And how about KISS? Let's talk about KISS. What an amazing band," he continued. "Talk about a hell-raising, street shit-kicker rhythm-and-blues rock and roll, unleashed, irreverent fun musical adventure they've created. I love those guys. I've done hundreds and hundreds of concerts with KISS and I consider them great friends."

Nugent, an outspoken conspiracy theorist who has refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine, went on to reference Simmons's 2021 description of unvaccinated Americans as the "enemy." Ted said: "Now I'm really surprised that Gene, as he celebrates his mother who survived Auschwitz, would possibly support an experimental shot and dare to call it a vaccine and really condemn people that don't take the experimental shot.

"So, once again, I love Gene, and I actually contacted him after he made that mistaken statement, and I let him know I still love him, but it was a really ridiculous, cruel, dishonest, totally misrepresentative statement that he said. But this time Paul Stanley hit the nail on the head.

"So, yes, women should only compete against women, and men should only compete against men. Wow, that's radical."

A few other rock musicians publicly supported Stanley's comments, including TWISTED SISTER frontman Dee Snider, who tweeted: "You know what? There was a time where I 'felt pretty' too. Glad my parents didn't jump to any rash conclusions!" Phil Labonte, lead vocalist of the metal band ALL THAT REMAINS, tweeted, "Paul is right." And pro wrestler Chris Jericho — who fronts FOZZY — retweeted Stanley's statement without additional comment, to his 3.5 million followers.

Some pointed out that KISS, which was co-founded by Stanley in 1973, was pioneering in breaking down the taboos surrounding men wearing makeup and feminine clothing.

THE OFFSPRING guitarist Noodles, whose real name is Kevin Wasserman, wrote on Twitter: "This is a very disappointing take, especially from someone who wore high-heels, makeup, & teased up hair his whole career. As a young kid your band helped teach me that I could be whatever I wanted to be. I guess it was just gimmickry after all."

In a follow-up statement on Thursday (May 4),Stanley walked back his previous statement, saying: "I support those struggling with their sexual identity while enduring constant hostility and those whose path leads them to reassignment surgery. It's hard to fathom the kind of conviction that one must feel to take those steps."

Closing his latest statement, Stanley opted not to clarify his original comments, insisting that social media may not be the best place for genuine discourse. "A paragraph or two will remain far too short to fully convey my thoughts or point of view, so I will leave that for another time and place," he wrote.

Last month, Nugent shared a tweet in which he denounced the existence of transgender people and told people they could "debate" him if they disagreed.

"There is no such thing as transgender. You cannot change your gender. Comfortably numb is actually uncomfortably dumb. Debate me but bring your bib," he wrote.