Kiss bassist-vocalist Gene Simmons has apologised for controversial comments he made about Prince in a Newsweek interview in which he said drugs were the cause of the music legend's death last month.
Prince was found dead at his home in Minnesota on April 21. Prescription drugs were in his possession. The results of the 57-year-old's autopsy have yet to be released but his lawyer has dismissed speculation about Prince being "drugged up" as "foolish".
Prince - Results of postmortem have yet to be released
However, in his interview with Newsweek, Simmons was unequivocal about the cause of death.
"His drugs killed him," he said. "What do you think, he died from a cold?"
"I think Prince was heads, hands and feet above all the rest of them," Simmons continued. "I thought he left [Michael] Jackson in the dust. Prince was way beyond that. But how pathetic that he killed himself. Don't kid yourself, that's what he did. Slowly, I'll grant you... but that's what drugs and alcohol is: a slow death."
Following widespread criticism of his comments, Simmons tweeted a lengthy response in which he apologised for his "big mouth" and said that his abhorrence of drug abuse stretched back many decades.
"Needless to say, I didn't express myself properly here - I don't shy away from controversy, and angry critics really don't bother me at all," he went on. "If I think I'm right, I'll throw up a finger and dig my heels in and laugh. But this time, I was not. So, my apologies."
— Gene Simmons (@genesimmons) May 11, 2016
Simmons' Kiss bandmate Paul Stanley also took his colleague to task, tweeting that he was "embarrassed by cold clueless statements re Prince's death".
Embarrassed by cold clueless statements re Prince's death. Without all the facts better to say nothing. My apologies https://t.co/Arb5XQ4o7l
— Paul Stanley (@PaulStanleyLive) May 10, 2016
