Gene Simmons apologises after seeming to compare Van Halen’s David Lee Roth to a ‘bloated, naked Elvis’

Sign up to Roisin O’Connor’s free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Get our Now Hear This email for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Gene Simmons has issued a public apology for comments made about Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth. “It bears noting that during Dave’s heyday, nobody did what he did,” said Simmons, describing Roth as once being “the ultimate frontman”. I don’t want to think of bloated, naked Elvis on the bathroom floor.” Roth responded to the interview on social media, repeatedly sharing a photo to Instagram of a child extending their middle finger, alongside the caption: “Roth to Simmons.” Gene Simmons and David Lee Roth Speaking to Us Weekly, Simmons apologised for his remarks, saying: “I don’t mean to hurt people’s feelings, and every once in a while, diarrhoea of the mouth comes out. He was the king.’ Then somehow, there was a segue to, ‘Elvis, bloated on the ground, fat and naked,’ and ‘I don’t want to see that.’ “I wasn’t talking about David, but that doesn’t matter,” he continued.