KISS’ Gene Simmons has responded to critics of his involvement in the recent Ronald Reagan biopic, saying he “doesn’t give a squat”.
The bassist and singer recorded a cover of Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler’s 1933 standard ‘Stormy Weather’ for Reagan, which was directed by Sean McNamara and released in the US in August.
The film, which stars Dennis Quaid as the former President, as well as Penelope Ann Miller, Jon Voight, Mena Suvari and Creed frontman Scott Stapp as Frank Sinatra, received mostly negative reviews, and in a new interview, Simmons has hit back at anyone that took issue with his involvement.
During an appearance on Bill O’Reilly’s No Spin News, he was asked if he had received any pushback from his role in the movie. “How do I say this as nicely as I can? I don’t give a squat.”
“Everybody’s entitled to an opinion,” he continued. “It falls off your back… I think it is the bastion of a certain political leaning of the thing, but that’s okay. [Outspoken Donald Trump supporter] Jon Voight and I hang out, we trade stories and everything else, and some people agree with his politics, some not. But everybody gives to charity, everybody loves children, and so think about the stuff that we agree with instead of the stuff that we don’t.”
Asked if he admired Reagan, he added: “I did. I was much younger, obviously, when he was president, and I knew nothing, almost nothing about the body of politics. But interestingly, in hindsight, it bears noting that the political and pop culture figures of any age were always about the impression, the ability to communicate a feeling. And perhaps that’s more important, the power of the personality, than what’s written on a piece of paper.”
“And now imagine a different president trying to communicate with [Soviet president Mikhail] Gorbachev and literally causing that wall to come down, which resulted in the fall of communism. That was Reagan; [he was a] great communicator. I was always a fan of his. I may have disagreed with something or something, but so what?”
In addition to Simmons, Reagan also included an original contribution from Bob Dylan, who covered Cole Porter’s 1934 song ‘Don’t Fence Me In’.
Elsewhere, Simmons has just announced a North American tour for April and May 2025, where he will play 16 dates across the continent. See the full list of dates here.
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