Gene Simmons Blames Late Bandmate Ace Frehley For His Own Death: 'You Reap What You Sow'

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Last month, rock legend Ace Frehley passed away at the age of 74.

Colleagues and music fans around the world expressed their grief over the loss of the beloved KISS guitatist.

But now, in an unexpected turn of events, Frehley’s most famous bandmate is making disparaging comments about his late colleague.

Ace Frehley preforms with Gene Simmons at The Children Matter Benefit Concert Featuring Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, Don Felder And Cheap Trick on September 2, 2017 at CHS Field Stadium in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images for The Children Matter)

Gene Simmons says Ace Frehley ‘refused advice’ in the years before his death

Unlike many rock stars of his era, Simmons is a tee-totaler.

But Frehley struggled with addiction — and apparently Simmons still bears a grudge against him because of it.

Frehley died of blunt force trauma after suffering a fall at home, and even though there’s no evidence that drugs or alcohol played a role in his death, Simmons has jumped to his own conclusions.

“He refused [advice] from people that cared about him — including yours truly — to try to change his lifestyle,” the KISS frontman told The New York Post this week, adding:

Musician Ace Frehley attends the 6th Annual Revolver Golden Gods Award Show at Club Nokia on April 23, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

“In and out of bad decisions. Falling down the stairs — I’m not a doctor — doesn’t kill you. There may have been other issues, and it breaks my heart.

“The saddest thing ––you reap what you shall sow, unfortunately.

“It breaks my heart. Peter Criss, our founding drummer, Paul [Stanley] and myself went to the funeral, open casket,” Simmons continued, adding:

“Saddest of all perhaps is that Ace just couldn’t stay alive long enough to sit there proudly at the Kennedy Center and listen to – I can’t even tell you who’s going to come out … really impressive people, just to say how much Kiss meant to them. What can you say? Sad.”

Inductees Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, Ace Frehley and Gene Simmons of KISS attend the 29th Annual Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center of Brooklyn on April 10, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

Bizarrely, Simmons was in the habit of bad-mouthing his former friends and bandmates (drummer Peter Criss also dealt with substance abuse issues) for their struggles.

Asked about in 2019 about the possibility of a KISS reunion tour, Simmons blamed Frehley and Criss for the fact that it was an impossibility.

“Not on your f—ing life,” he told Guitar World, adding that Frehley and Criss both been fired three times “for drugs, alcohol, bad behavior, being unprofessional [and] not carrying their load.”

As many have pointed out, Frehley announced in 2008 that he’d gotten sober, and there was never any indication that he had relapsed.

Many have also pointed out that Simmons nearly drove off a cliff after losing consciousness behind the wheel back in October. But maybe that’s a conversation for another time.