The members of rock band Kiss are still “deeply honored” by their Kennedy Center distinction despite some of them vocally slamming President Donald Trump, the center’s chairman, in the past.
On Wednesday, Trump revealed the star-studded lineup of honorees being recognized for their artistic and cultural influence, which in addition to Kiss, also includes country music titan George Strait, English actor and comedian Michael Crawford, Rocky star Sylvester Stallone, and singer Gloria Gaynor.
After the announcement, the rockers told TMZ what the honor meant to them. “From our earliest days, Kiss has embodied the American ideal that all things are possible and that hard work pays off,” Paul Stanley told the outlet. “The prestige of the Kennedy Center Honors cannot be overstated and I accept this on behalf of the long legacy of Kiss and all of the band members who helped create our iconic band.”
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The other members of the legendary band — Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss — shared similar sentiments with the outlet. Simmons said, “Kiss is the embodiment of the American dream. We are deeply honored to receive the Kennedy Center Honor.”
Frehley, meanwhile, said he was grateful to be honored alongside the likes of Stallone, Strait, Gaynor, and Crawford, calling it “a dream come true that I never thought would materialize.”
Criss said simply, “I feel so blessed. This is the greatest honor of our career.”
TMZ notes that Frehley referred to himself as a “Trump supporter in 2020.” The other members of Kiss, however, have been more critical of Trump.
In Aug. 2020, Stanley called Trump’s claims about the 2020 election being rigged if he lost “abhorrent.” Stanley posted on X at the time: “REGARDLESS of who you support, it is incendiary & abhorrent for ANY candidate to say ‘If I lose, the election is rigged.’ It’s an insult to those who have fought for the free, safe elections we have and dangerously implies that citizens who don’t share your views are the enemy.”
He also slammed Trump over the Jan. 6 Capitol Riots in 2021. Calling those who partook in the riots “terrorists” who participated in “armed insurrection,” Stanley added on X, “The flames were fanned today & over time by the president & specific senators who CANNOT be allowed now to distance from or denounce what they have directly caused. Know their names. THIS is the result of their deception. Shame.”
In a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone, Simmons said Trump was “good for the political system” but he nonetheless “has said some very vile, unkind things.”
Simmons, who was a contestant on Trump’s NBC show The Celebrity Apprentice in 2008, admitted on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast in Nov. 2022 that he initially was “happy” that the man he knew was elected in 2016, but he quickly changed his tune.
“The person that I saw first coming into power is not the person I saw within a year or two of that … But I changed the way lots of people changed,” Simmons said.
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“Look what that gentleman did to this country and the polarization — got all the cockroaches to rise to the top,” Simmons said. “Once upon a time, you were embarrassed to be publicly racist and out there with conspiracy theories. Now it’s all out in the open because he allowed it.”
He continued, “I don’t think he’s a Republican or a Democrat. He’s out for himself, any way you can get there. And in the last election, over 70 million people bought it hook, line and sinker.”
Awarded at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, the Kennedy Center Honors recognize the lifetime achievements of artists who have made profound contributions to the cultural life in America. Past honorees include Steven Spielberg, Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey, Billy Crystal, Quincy Jones, Rita Moreno, Herbie Hancock, Dick Van Dyke, Tina Turner, Dolly Parton, Renée Fleming, and Francis Ford Coppola.
