Gene Simmons told broadcaster Terry Gross, 'If you want to welcome me with open arms, I'm afraid you're also going to have to welcome me with open legs', during an interview broadcast on NPR. The KISS bassist and co-founder made the sexual remark while discussing his stage costumes, prompting an immediate rebuke from the interviewer. The exchange is being revisited ahead of the band's documentary, KISS: End of the Road, due on 19 November 2026.
Gross had been asking about the musician's outfits, including a studded codpiece, when Simmons steered the conversation towards his sexuality. The singer, whose band is known for 'Rock and Roll All Nite' and 'I Was Made for Lovin' You', refused to back down when she challenged him. Their conversation soon became an argument about how he spoke to women.
Their old exchange has endured beyond its original broadcast, appearing in Gross's later reflections and even a Netflix comedy sketch. The original recording captures how quickly a discussion about stage costumes turned into a confrontation.
What Did Gene Simmons Say to Terry Gross?
Simmons was appearing on Fresh Air on 4 February 2002 to promote his autobiography, Kiss and Make-Up, when Gross asked about KISS's theatrical image. He denied her suggestion that he had worn fishnet stockings and told her to fire her researcher, before the conversation moved to his studded codpiece. Asked whether he found the garment funny, Simmons said it held in his 'manhood' and suggested that what lay beneath would be too much for Gross to handle.
Watch here: Listen to Gene Simmons' original interview with Terry Gross, in which the KISS bassist makes his controversial 'open legs' remark and clashes with the broadcaster.
Gross answered, 'That's a really obnoxious thing to say.' Simmons disagreed, defending his language as something he was willing to say directly to her rather than behind her back. When Gross asked whether this was the only way he could speak to a woman, the musician continued to frame his behaviour in terms of masculinity.
Simmons later defended his conduct. Discussing the encounter in 2004, he said he thought Gross had been rude and maintained that he responded in kind. He described her as self-important, framing the dispute as a clash over manners rather than his comments about women.
Terry Gross Later Revisited the Exchange
In a 2017 anniversary episode of Fresh Air, Gross singled out Simmons when discussing interviews that attracted attention because the conversation went wrong. The programme replayed part of their 2002 exchange, preserving both the remark and her immediate objection. Gross also discussed the confrontation in her 2004 book, All I Did Was Ask, describing how an expected conversation about his costumes turned into mutual insults.
Simmons revisited the controversy in a video published on 4 October 2024 by Really Famous with Kara Mayer Robinson. In the clip, titled 'Here's What Happened With Terry Gross', the KISS bassist shared his account of their contentious interview. The conversation offered another look at the encounter more than two decades after it originally aired.
The moment found another audience in 2025 through actor Richard Kind, who impersonated Simmons on Netflix's Everybody's Live with John Mulaney. Wearing a look based on the KISS frontman, Kind adapted the 'open legs' comment into a joke during the show. Gross later asked Kind about the sketch during his own Fresh Air interview, and he explained that John Mulaney had sent him the contentious Simmons interview.
KISS Prepares to Chronicle Its Final Tour
Directed by DJ Viola, KISS: End of the Road follows the final stretch of the group's farewell tour, including backstage difficulties and its closing concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden. KISS completed the tour on 2 December 2023, ending a live chapter that began decades earlier. The documentary premieres on the band's official website on 19 November, with further distribution planned.
KISS announces ‘End of the Road’ documentary telling the story of their triumphant final farewell tour and EPIC final show at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
— Mitch Lafon (@mitchlafon) October 27, 2026
It will be available via Streaming!
FILM PREMIERE
November 19th at 9:00 PM EST pic.twitter.com/9viwnCUnNf
Simmons has described the production as an inside look at the group's final shows, recalling their 'raw energy'. The release comes as KISS continues developing projects with entertainment company Pophouse, which acquired the band's music catalogue and intellectual property in 2024. The documentary focuses on KISS's final tour, not the 2002 exchange.
