Gene Simmons Slammed for Creepy Comments and Low Scores Given on Dancing With the Stars

Gene Simmons is facing backlash for his controversial commentary and scoring on last night’s episode of Dancing With the Stars. The co-lead singer of KISS was invited to sit on the judging panel for “Hair Metal Night,” in which all of the dances paid homage to the musical genre.

Unfortunately, what was supposed to be a fun night as night two of a two-night event turned out to be an awkward and frustrating episode for both contestants and viewers. 

At the top of the night, NFL star Danny Amendola and pro partner Witney Carson performed a Paso Doble to Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On a Prayer,” to which Simmons’ only contribution was not being able to tell “who was hotter” between the two. Even with Carson growing increasingly uncomfortable, he continued to emphasize they were “hot, hot, hot.”

it’s only the first dance and i’m already over gene simmons being a creep #DWTSpic.twitter.com/iEEyoSlPUh

— Cheyanne (@alltoochey) October 9, 2024

24-year-old Pretty Little Liars star Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong performed a Jive to which the rock artist told her that she “fogged up his glasses.” While Kinney laughed it off, Armstrong wasn’t thrilled with the comment, stating, “I said, ‘Hold up now.’ I have two little sisters. I heard it. I said, ‘Wait, wait, wait.’”

gene simmons telling someone FIFTY ONE YEARS YOUNGER THAN HIM that she steamed up his glasses is absolutely disgusting she

— BOS rain show, AMS N1&3 | thank you little mix (@leigh_ilysm) October 9, 2024

Soon after, supermodel Brooks Nader took the floor with pro partner Gleb Savchenko. The two have been under fire for their overtly sexual performances and pushy showmance, including night 1’s Rumba, which opened with a “therapist’s office” scene. They performed a Cha Cha, an improvement from former performances but, according to the professional judges, nowhere near a perfect score. As the judges raised their 8’s, Simmons raised the coveted 10, or “perfect score” paddle; however, he wrote down a 9 in his original scoring, so their 10 was immediately revoked. 

all i learned from this episode of #dwts is that gene kelly is misogynistic, a creep, and incompetent. never invite him to the show EVER AGAIN. pic.twitter.com/pYU2pOSovw

— ana (@withluvselena) October 9, 2024

(For context: at the end of each dance, the judges write down their scores on a notepad and hand them over to producers, who then input them into the monitor—whatever score they write down is the final score.)

After the first few dances, it was evident someone from production instructed him to knock it off as the comments simmered down, but the ridiculous scoring continued all night. Specifically, the fact that the contestants and female pros he highly praised for their “hot” looks scored significantly higher than others while he lowballed POC contestants. 

dwts never ask gene back. he’s done pissed me off #DWTS pic.twitter.com/YyVelAE3A0

— maria (@badomensIive) October 9, 2024

Real Housewives of Atlanta star Phaedra Parks and partner Val Chmerkovskiy performed a Paso Doble, for which the professional judges gave her 7’s across the board – Simmons on the other hand, gave her a drastically low score of 5, despite not having any substantial critiques for her performance. 

“I loved the routine, and I think we did good, despite Gene Simmons being a total ding-a-ling…I figured he [Simmons] didn’t like short Black women,” Parks stated.

underscoring the asian and black female contestants relative to the other judge's scores after inflating scores all night??? gene simmons you may just be a racist #dwts pic.twitter.com/8MuuMVLeu2

— lau (@kodylavenders) October 9, 2024

The singer scored first Asian-American Bachelorette, Jenn Tran, lower than the actual judges. As Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli raved about her Paso Doble and scored her with triple 8’s, Simmons quipped, “Don’t hate me” as he held up a 7, confusing the cast and viewers. 

Amongst the thousands of viewers, last season’s contestant, Charity Lawson, called out the judge for his explicitly degrading behavior. In a TikTok with the “that’s suspicious, that’s weird,” sound she commented, “not yall playing in our faces like that—can we get people to judge who actually can provide constructive criticism…im so tired.” 

@charity.lawson not yall playing in our faces like that- can we get people to judge who actually can provide constructive criticism…im so tired #dwts #judge #hairmetal ♬ cardi b sound – kakie☺️ ᪲᪲᪲

Dancing With the Stars has yet to release a statement, if any, regarding last night’s behavior; however, fans call upon the series to rectify what happened. 

Next week is “Dedication Night,” and fans are in for a much better time as former pro Mark Ballas will join the judging panel for the evening. Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesday nights on ABC and Disney+, and the next day on Hulu.