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came under fire on social media on Wednesday for comments he made criticizing the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for admitting hip-hop artists.
The 76-year-old Kiss bassist and singer — who apologized in December for — argued on the Legends N Leaders podcast over the weekend that rap and hip-hop don't 'speak [his] language.'
Critics on social media were particularly incensed by Simmons saying that he 'doesn't come from the ghetto' as an argument for why the hip-hop artists should not be included in the Hall of Fame, which is located in Cleveland, .
Some users on social media branded Simmons's comments as racist due to his evocation of ghettos.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Simmons's representative and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for comment.
The Kiss rocker's complaints about the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame were set off after he opined that critics and their tastes weren't a strong way to judge the importance of artists.
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Gene Simmons came under fire on social media on Wednesday for comments he made criticizing the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for admitting hip-hop artists; pictured in 2013 in LA
The 76-year-old Kiss bassist and singer argued on the Legends N Leaders podcast over the weekend that rap and hip-hop don't 'speak [his] language,' adding 'I don't come from the ghetto'; pictured with Kiss in 2023 at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan
'The fact that, for instance, Iron Maiden is not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame when they can sell out stadiums, and Grandmaster Flash is,' he said, using the Hall of Fame as a stand-in for critical tastemakers.
Simmons then evoked the rapper-turned-actor Ice Cube as he distanced himself from hip-hop music.
'Ice Cube and I had a back and forth — he’s a bright guy, and I respect what he’s done,' Simmons continued, before declaring, 'It’s not my music. I don’t come from the ghetto. It doesn’t speak my language.'
'The fact that, for instance, Iron Maiden is not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame when they can sell out stadiums, and Grandmaster Flash is,' he said, using the Hall of Fame as a stand-in for critical tastemakers; pictured with Donald Trump on December 6 in the Oval Office
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'Ice Cube and I had a back and forth — he’s a bright guy, and I respect what he’s done,' Simmons continued. He said Ice Cube defended hip-hop as being in 'the spirit of rock n' roll'; Ice Cube is pictured in September in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
'OK, fine ... I just want to know when Led Zeppelin’s gonna be in the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame,' Simmons — who's band Kiss was inducted in 2014 — responded. 'Music has labels, because it describes an approach'; pictured in September in LA
Ice Cube, who was inducted with N.W.A., said in his acceptance speech: 'Rock n’ roll is not an instrument. It’s not even a style of music. It’s a spirit that’s been going on since the blues, jazz, bebop, soul, rock n’ roll, R&B, heavy metal, punk rock and, yes, hip-hop'; seen in 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana
'You’ve got Grandmaster Flash in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? Run-D.M.C. in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? You’re killing me!' Simmons exclaimed.
