Gene Simmons (Kiss) guest stars on CASTLE (10:01-11:00 p.m. ET) on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/ADAM LARKEY) GENE SIMMONS
Kiss front man, Gene Simmons is making a guest appearance on Castle tonight (10:00 p.m. ET/PT, ABC), “playing a character named Gene Simmons, who’s a real character,” Simmons deadpans to EntertainmentHeartbeat.com.
All kidding aside, Simmons tells us he is an avid Castle fan and that this particular episode will give and wink and nod the movie To Live and Die in L.A. Though, he won’t give up any details as to how he fits into the action.
“The title is To Love and Die in L.A.,” he begins, “It’s smart. The writing is better than most TV shows. It’s very clever.”
Simmons and his family have been front and center since 2006 with his reality show Gene Simmons Family Jewels. And while most celebrities claim to hate being in the public eye, Simmons loves it and says the other stars secretly crave the attention.
“When celebrities complain about, ‘Darling, I want to be alone,’ it’s the biggest load of nonsense,” Simmons stresses. “The truth is if nobody paid attention to them, they’d be streaking down the street on Hollywood Boulevard, naked in a Batman outfit. Me thinks they doth protest too much. We’re all very blessed to be doing this in a country that everybody wants to come to – and still has, by some estimates, as many as 20-million people out of work.”
And it is because of that life of privilege that Simmons believes performers should show some gratitude.
“Celebrities should shut the f—k up and stop complaining and get a life,” he unloads. “They get paid too well, me too by the way, for kind of goofing off and doing nothing. Just relax, have a good time and be happy you can do this.”
Simmons, who is an immigrant from Israel, is blunt in his political opinions. He is unhappy with President Obama and his administration – even though he supported him in the 2008 election.
“I voted for our president and I actually want my vote back,” he says firmly. “Our president, whose resume shows two years of local public service, has never been out of the country and has never own a company in his life, is now deciding all sorts of fiscal notions, alienating the world bank, foreign policy, Israel, just all kinds of stuff, which I disagree with. I completely disagree with Universal Healthcare. I don’t believe the government should be your mommy and daddy. It’s time to grow up.”
While some has ridiculed Donald Trump, Simmons is a true believer, who is pleased that The Donald is making a noise.
“Donald Trump is a very qualified business man,” he begins adding, “The man has succeeded decade after decade after decade. If you take a look at, who in my estimation should be running this country, I believe it should be businessman/politicians, not politicians who teach at Harvard, who would by the way, fail in the real world.”
He does give the president props for his intelligence, though he is convinced all that smarts is misguided.
“He has outstanding communication skills, but no experience in structure, doesn’t understand the nature of business, which is why Wall Street doesn’t like him at all,” Simmons points out.
And as a man who was born in the Holy land, Simmons is disgusted with the president’s treatment of Israel and the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
“It is delusional for us to consider that any other country in the Middle East is our friend. There is one country that would go to war for us or with just a single phone call,” he states demonstrating the phone conversation between the president and prime minister. “ ‘Listen, we don’t want to get involved. Would you mind taking out the nuclear reactor in Syria?’ It’s one phone call and it’s done. No United Nations, no nonsense and it’s done.”
The Kiss front man says – though it was just confirmed April 28th of this year – it was Israel who blew apart a nuclear site in Syria back in 2007 – and says we should all be happy with Israel’s action.
“They did the same thing in 1982. Saddam Hussein was building nuclear reactors, Israel said, ‘Please dismantle,’ he didn’t. So, Monday morning they took out nuclear reactors. Crossed borders, broke international airspace and said, ‘OK, you want a war? Let’s go.’ ”
Despite being outspoken, don’t expect Simmons to run for office anytime soon. He doesn’t “believe” in politics. Given the chance, however, he’d overhaul our criminal justice system.
“I believe if somebody’s going to be in charge, I’d rather it be a benevolent dictator,” he insists. “Give me six weeks, watch me change the drug model in America. I would put any pedophile that touches anyone’s child to death. I don’t believe in rehabilitation because doctors tell us you can’t be cured. Nobody believes in the death penalty for pedophiles until your child is molested. Then you believe in it.”
Drug dealers would also have an especially hard sentence if Simmons were in charge.
“If you deal hard drugs to my kids I either want death or for the rest of your life chopping wood in Alaska. You would change the drug model immediately,” he assures. “Public executions of drug dealers in time square. People who march in front of jail cells and against the death penalty have actually never had anything bad happen to them. If somebody killed your child or family member, what would you want to do about it? I don’t believe the courts should decide if you live or die. It should be the victim’s family. You don’t want me in charge because I would change the entire system.”
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