KISS icon Gene Simmons has broken his silence after he was hospitalized following a car crash in Malibu earlier this week, assuring fans he is ‘completely fine’.
The star, 76, apparently passed out while driving down Pacific Coast Highway on Tuesday, prompting him to collide with a parked car. He was taken to the hospital but has since been released.
On X, Simmons thanked everyone for their words of encouragement and joked about being a ‘horrible’ driver.
‘Thanks, everybody, for the kind wishes. I’m completely fine. I had a slight fender bender. It happens. Especially to those of us were horrible drivers. And that’s me. All is well,’ he posted on Wednesday.
Earlier that day NBC4 LA reported that Simmons had crashed his vehicle into a parked car after apparently passing out or fainting inside his Lincoln Navigator.
The rock legend has since told the news outlet he is doing fine.
KISS icon Gene Simmons has broken his silence after he was hospitalized following a car crash in Malibu earlier this week
Simmons assured fans all was well following his accident
Simmons informed deputies he passed out or fainted before the collision, The Sheriff’s Department told the outlet.
His wife Shannon Tweed, 68, told the news outlet Simmons is recovering at home after passing out during the accident.
She said her spouse’s vehicle had careened across a few lanes of traffic during the accident.
Tweed added Simmons recently had his medication changed by his doctor, and now needs to drink more water, which she noted he’s not particularly fond of.
In 2023 Simmons also made headlines after suffering dehydration during a KISS concert in Manaus, Brazil.
The rocker became ill on stage, prompting the band to pause the show.
Afterwards, Simmons assured fans he was doing OK via X: ‘Hey everybody, thanks for the good wishes. I’m fine. Yesterday at Manaus Stadium in Brazil, experienced weakness because of dehydration. We stopped for about five minutes, I drank some water, and then all was well. Nothing serious. Tomorrow, Bogota Stadium. See you there!’
In a follow-up, he elaborated: ‘Ok, kids. Not a big deal. Thanks for your kind wishes. Last night we played Amazon jungle Stadium/Brazil. Humidity and temperature were sky high. I was dehydrated and was forced to sit for a song. We got back on stage in 5 minutes & finished the show.’
Simmons also suffers from the heart condition atrial fibrillation, which he says he manages with rest and liquids.
Simmons is one of the co-founders of the iconic rock band; pictured 2023
Shannon Tweed, Simmons’ wife, said her husband had recently changed medications and now needs to drink more water, which he isn’t particularly fond of (The couple pictured with their two children Sophie and Nick in 2017)
Simmons has been touring with his band since he retired from KISS in 2023 after wrapping up their End of the Road World Tour
Describing the first time he learned he had the condition, also known as ‘AFib’, he explained on The Doctors in 2016: ‘I had never heard of the term AFib, but about 10 years ago, we were on tour someplace, and stage the temperature goes up about a hundred, with all the stage lights and my heart,’ he said before mimicking the sound of a fast heartbeat.
‘I started to get dizzy and perspire and short of breath. So I called a doctor and he showed up and said, ‘OK, here’s what’s going on. There’s something called AFib,’ and he went down the list. And it was a lot to take in,’ he continued.
‘Since that event I haven’t really had recurring problems because I get plenty of rest, drink lots of liquids. But am I prone to AFib? You bet.’
Simmons has been touring with his band since he retired from KISS in 2023 after wrapping up their End of the Road World Tour.
Simmons also suffers from the heart condition atrial fibrillation, which he says he manages with rest and liquids; pictured 2019
Simmons (L) will soon be reuniting with Paul Stanley (R) and Tommy Thayer for Kiss Kruise in Las Vegas; pictured 2023
As a co-founder of KISS, he played bass and co-led vocals from 1973 until their retirement two years ago.
The metal band was formed by Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss in addition to Simmons in New York City in the early 1970s.
During the band’s half a century together, Simmons and Stanley also performed with now-former bandmates Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer for years.
Simmons was recently on tour with his eponymous music group, Gene Simmons Band, last performing in Sturgis, South Dakota on August 3.
He’s scheduled to perform ‘unmasked’ next month with fellow KISS rockers Stanley and Thayer in Las Vegas next month for Kiss Kruise.
