KISS' Gene Simmons Surprisingly Doubts Beyonce's Performance Abilities

KISS frontman Gene Simmons isn't one to bite his lengthy tongue when it comes to his opinions on other musicians. The "Shout It Loud" singer is all about rock 'n' rollin' all night, and his allegiance to his musical genre of choice is seemingly absolute — when he starts beef with another singer, they usually aren't rockers.

Simmons' music career began almost half a century ago, and he often laments how much the industry has changed since then. Simmons blasted Justin Bieber for canceling his remaining tour dates in 2017, telling TMZ that the privileged pop star needed to "get a life." In April 2022, Simmons risked having the BTS ARMY come after him when he told Metal Hammer that BTS can't be the next Beatles because the K-pop group's songs aren't garage band material. "One Direction and NSYNC and all the boy bands don't change the world," he added. "It just makes little girls' hearts flutter and then they're gone." 

Simmons took on an entire music genre in 2016, telling Rolling Stone that he's "looking forward to the death of rap," and Madonna was the target of one of his rants after it was announced that she would be performing during the Super Bowl halftime show in 2012. "I love all karaoke singers, I love all the girl singers who get up and sing with tapes ... shame on you!" he said to TMZ. Now, he's going after another one of the biggest female stars in the world.

If anyone ever tried to replace Gene Simmons as KISS' lead singer, they'd have some big shoes to fill — literally. While promoting the band's final tour, Simmons described his famous stage costume to ET and randomly decided to take a dig at Beyoncé (we can hear the Beyhive swarming already). "Put Beyoncé in my outfit with seven to eight-inch platform heels, dragon boots that each weigh as much as a bowling ball, the entire outfit, studs, leather and armor is about 40 pounds," he said, adding that Queen Bey "would pass out within a half hour."

We doubt Beyoncé will ever test this theory, but she's no stranger to performing in daring footwear. A behind-the-scenes video for her "Formation" world tour shows her rocking various thigh-high boots with high heels, and she doesn't just stand there and sing in them — she also dances. "We started dancing in stilettos at 12 years old," Beyoncé told Oprah Winfrey of her girl group Destiny's Child in 2003.

Beyoncé has also performed while heavily pregnant at the Grammys (remember that tilting chair that made everyone hold their breath?),and her stage costumes have included elaborate headpieces, latex, and tent-sized capes, as seen in this British Vogue collection of photos. So maybe Beyoncé wasn't the best musician for Simmons to single out while bragging about his wardrobe and stamina. And if anyone passes out during a Beyoncé performance, they're usually a fan.