We can only imagine how Dancing With the Stars fans feel about Gene Simmons as a guest judge.
Especially after some questioned Rosie Perez’s credentials when she was guest host for Soul Train night despite actually having been a Soul Train dancer.
But we don’t have to guess because many DWTS viewers were very vocal about his appearance.
And it’s hard to find anyone who was actually excited or impressed to see the KISS frontman on the judges’ panel on Tuesday night.
It seems that the criticism was two-fold.
Some weren’t convinced that leading a legendary rock band qualified Gene Simmons to judge anyone’s dance moves, and others just weren’t impressed with his misogynistic commentary.
Gene Simmons was in bad form on Dancing With the Stars
It should surprise no one that Gene Simmons can be a bit sexist and not even realize how offensive some of the things he is saying are. Or maybe he just doesn’t care. The latter is very likely.
But he came right out of the gate with inappropriate comments when the judges began commenting on Reggie VelJohnson’s performance alongside dance pro Emma Slater.
As others commented on Reggie’s moves (or lack of moves), Gene took it upon himself to comment on Emma’s beauty, but not before reminding everyone that he’s a big deal.
It went downhill from there as Gene continued to comment on the women he found attractive and seemingly forgot about the men in the competition.
It quickly became clear that Gene is not a dance pro, as the scores were handed out after each performance.
DWTS viewers blast KISS singer
Gene Simmons’ antics garnered a lot more reaction on social media than Rosie Perez did — and for good reason. He was very clearly out of line.
One viewer took to X and called him out, writing, “interesting how gene can score similarly to the judges when it’s not a “hot” person… #dwts” The GIF was from Golden Girls and said, “It’s sickening.”
Another wrote, “Gene Simmons is just commenting on the looks of all the women and not really judging, but what does he know about dancing anyway lol!”
Another agreed, writing, “someone tell gene that the paddles are used to judging the stars based on their DANCING, not based on how hot he thinks they are. #DWTS”
Another turned it into a drinking game that could have been very dangerous for anyone who tried it.
Gene even awarded the first 10 of the season, not because Gleb Savchenko and Brooks Nader danced perfectly but because he thought Brooks was hot.
That didn’t please the judges or the audience; DWTS viewers blasted him for that, too.
Perhaps casting can find someone else to represent the hair metal genre next season when looking for guest judges.
Dancing With the Stars airs on Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC.