KISS bassist Gene Simmons is telling women to stop being so needy.
In an appearance on Fox News, the former rock star who is now promoting his self-help book “Me, Inc.: Build an Army of One, Unleash Your Inner Rock God, Win in Life and Business,” elaborated on a book passage about women in the workplace, stating that women have to choose between a career and a family.
“You can’t have it both ways. A career is time-consuming. It is all-encompassing. You will continue to fail over and over and over again before you succeed,” Simmons said. “What I’m here to say is women think differently than men. Men must work for a living. Women have the option of becoming the housewife, which is respectable and it’s wonderful, but what happens when the man runs away? Do you know how to balance your budget? Because life is a budget.”
“Here’s the real skinny of life as we know it,” he told Fox News host Andrea Tantaros. “Let’s all agree that women should not depend on men. The statistics predominately tell us they will run out on you. They’ll break up … yes, infidelity, but the other problem is the economics of relationships.”
Simmons also advised young women to prepare for the worst case-scenario in both their professional and personal lives.
“Women, stop depending on men. The less you depend on a man for emotional but especially financial support, the better off you’ll be,” the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer said. “So let’s look at your choices in life. You’re a woman and you have maybe 20 years from the time you’re 20 until you’re 40 … until you procreate. In other words, more romantically, until you have a child you can love. You want to make sure that that child has a household that is full of love but especially that you can afford to support.”
Expanding on his career advice for single women, the former rocker said that women should assume their male partners will inevitably abandon them. “Assume the worst, assume the man runs out on you … assume the man’s not going to be there,” said Simmons. “So why not devote your time, those early years, to making your fortune. Get a career.”
Over the past few months, Simmons’ remarks have garnered criticism, angering musician Nikki Sixx by telling suicidal people to “kill themselves.” Simmons also came to the defense of former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, saying, “… if, because you say an off-color joke or make a racist rant privately, that causes you to lose a job – nobody would have a job.” Sterling was the center of a media firestorm in April, when a private phone conversation between himself and his purported girlfriend, V. Stiviano, was leaked to the public in which Sterling was heard making racially insensitive remarks.
In an Huffington Post Live interview, Simmons told immigrants to “Learn to speak god**** English.” “As an immigrant, I’m telling you: learn to speak god**** English. It is the key that will unlock the keys to the kingdom,” he continued.
Clare Kim