‘KISS Is Out’ of Michael Jackson Tribute Show
No kisses for MJ by KISS at October tribute show after King of Pop fans rebuked the former invitation
Days after organizers announced the first tier of superstars to headline a Michael Jackson tribute show scheduled to be held in October, glam rock band Kiss was added to the lineup. Looked like Kiss was “made for loving” some MJ.
But scrap those plans.
On Tuesday, a day after the big announcement was made involving Kiss, Global Live Events rescended their invitation to the rock band after fans and media quickly noted that Kiss bassist Gene Simmons has said in recent years that he was convinced Jackson molested children. And some of Simmons’ most critical comments came within days of Jackson’s unfortunate passing in 2009.
Jackson was acquitted of molestation charges after a 2005 trial in California.
Some of Simmons’ harshest comments came last year in an interview with Classic Rock magazine. “Well, you know, where there’s smoke there’s fire,” Simmons said in regards to the accusations pretaining Jackson’s sexual abuse of young boys. “There’s no question in my mind he molested those kids. Not a doubt.”
Global Live Events CEO Chris Hunt accepted blame, citing the Kiss’ booking as an “oversight.”
“Under the circumstances, we fully agree that even though Kiss is a band Michael admired, we have no choice but to rescind our invitation to them to appear in our tribute concert,” Hunt expressed in a public statement.
Representatives of Kiss have not responded to questions pretaining to the recent news.
Headliners for the “Michael Forever: The Tribute Concert” will include Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Smokey Robinson, Leona Lewis and Brit pretyboy pop band JLS. The event takes place on October 8 in Cardiff, Wales.
So what do you think?
Should Kiss be on the program?
Should Simmons apologize for the remarks?
Do you think the Jackson Family should also be faulted for the oversight?
Share your thoughts.
