Gene Simmons has apologised for telling anyone who suffers with depression to “kill yourself”.
The Kiss rocker, 64, caught heat after an interview with SongFacts.com surfaced last month in which he was quoted saying he doesn’t “get along with anybody who's a drug addict and has a dark cloud over their head and sees themselves as a victim”.
Seeing no excuse for self-pitying attitudes and noting his own mother was in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany, he continued in part: “…For a putz, 20-year-old kid to say, ‘I’m depressed, I live in Seattle.’ F**k you, then kill yourself.”
But in a Facebook post on his verified page published Friday, the musician said he wanted to “clarify” his prior remarks.
“To the extent my comments reported by the media speak of depression, I was wrong and in the spur of the moment made remarks that in hindsight were made without regard for those who truly suffer the struggles of depression,” he explained, adding, “I sincerely apologize to those who were offended by my comments. I recognize that depression is very serious and very sad when it happens to anyone, especially loved ones. I deeply support and am empathetic to anyone suffering from any disease, especially depression.”
Gene, however, refused to backtrack over his remarks made about those who suffer from addiction.
Instead, he insisted his words were misinterpreted, though he acknowledged his commentary was harsh.
“I have never sugarcoated my feelings regarding drug use and alcoholics,” he continued. “Somewhere along the line, my intention of speaking in very directly and perhaps politically incorrectly about drug use and alcoholics has been misconstrued as vile commentary on depression. Unkind statements about depression was certainly never my intention.
Fully, you will know that and I do not intend to defend myself here and now, by listing the myriad charities and self-help organizations I am involved with. Rather, I simply want to be clear that my heart goes out to anyone suffering from depression and I deeply regret any offhand remarks in the heat of an interview that might have suggested otherwise.”
