Married KISS founder Gene Simmons is going viral after an awkward exchange with a journalist during a recent interview.
On Monday, December 8, the 76-year-old rocker spoke with Scripps News anchor Maritsa Georgiou about his 2025 Kennedy Center Honors recognition and his support for the American Music Fairness Act.
At the end of the 10-minute interview, Simmons asked Georgiou, “By the way, are you still modeling?”
“What?” she replied, clearly confused. When Simmons repeated the question, she said, “I don’t model, sir.”
“Oh I assumed,” Simmons said, prompting laughter. Georgiou replied, “Well, I appreciate that.”
Scripps News shared the clip on their Instagram Story, which Georgiou reposted with three see-no-evil monkey emojis. She later shared a TMZ story about the moment, joking that she “did not have this on my Bingo card.”
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Simmons has been married to former model Shannon Tweed since 2011. They share two children — Nicholas Simmons, 36, and Sophie Simmons, 33.
The singer has not commented on the viral moment. His appearance on the network came one day after he and his KISS bandmates were recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors. Stars Sylvester Stallone, Michael Crawford, George Strait and Gloria Gaynor were also honored at the event.