KISS Frontman Gene Simmons Sued Following Groping Claims

KISS frontman Gene Simmons is being sued by a woman who claims the rocker committed sexual battery against her at the opening of his Rock & Brews restaurant in 2016, reported The Blast Thursday.

The woman, identified in court documents obtained by the outlet as Jane Doe, claims to have been working as a dishwasher in the restaurant at its Dec. 6, 2016 opening, agreeing to take a photo with the rocker, despite not knowing who he was at the time.

Doe claimed that when she moved close to Simmons to take the photo, he "reached over and forcefully placed his hand on her vagina, completely covering it."

She added that throughout the visit, she witnessed Simmons act "in a sexually charged manner with other women," including touching women's hair and seeing him "tell them to unbutton their shirts."

Doe is suing for sexual battery and seeking unspecified damages, the outlet reports.

This isn't the first time that Simmons has been sued for sexual misconduct. In July 2018, the musician settled a lawsuit brought against him in 2017 by a woman who claimed that he had groped her and made inappropriate comments about her body during the December 2017 opening of his Rock & Brews eatery in San Bernardino, California. The details of the settlement remain confidential.

While Simmons has yet to respond to the new lawsuit publicly, he denied any wrongdoing in the San Bernardino case.

"Friends, I intend to defend myself against any alleged charges you may have been reading about in the media," Simmons said, reported Us Weekly. "For the record, I did not assault the person making these accusations in the manner alleged in the complaint or harm her in any way."

"I am conferring with my lawyers with the aim of vigorously countering these allegations," he added. "And, I look forward to my day in court where the evidence will prove my innocence."

Australian reporter Kathy McCabe also alleged in 2017 that Simmons had sexually harassed her during an interview in the 1990s.

She claimed that, among other things, he continually joked, "I love coming to Australia because all the women have big [breasts] and big [butts]."

"[Simmons'] verbal harassment tipped me over the edge of professionalism and I responded that as I possessed neither attribute, would he mind answering a question," McCabe told USA Today at the time. "He laughed at me. I asked two more questions, he gave pretty much the same answer and I told him he had wasted enough of my time."

Photo credit: Facebook/Gene Simmons