Gene Simmons's Wife, Paul Stanley Clash Over Prince Remarks

Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons
Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons attend the 32nd Annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards in Hollywood, California, April 29, 2015. Stanley and Simmons's wife, Shannon Tweed, have gone back-and-forth over Simmons's controversial comments about Prince. Jason Merritt/Getty

Gene Simmons's inflammatory remarks about Prince's death in an interview with Newsweek published Tuesday continue to reverberate—leading to tension within his band Kiss.

After the star described the Purple One's death as "pathetic"—comments he later apologized for—fellow Kiss co-founder Paul Stanley took to Twitter to publicly atone for his friend of over 40 years and distance himself from Simmons' remarks.

He tweeted:

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

Stanley's reaction prompted Simmons's wife, model and actress Shannon Tweed, to bite back, accusing him of throwing her husband "under the bus."

She wrote:

We ALL have our failings but true friends don't point at them & throw you under the bus! Especially partners of 40 years!

— Mrs ShannonTSimmons (@shannonleetweed) May 11, 2016

Stanley responded:

Partners of 40 years says it all. Don't confuse walking under the bus with being thrown under. My apology was right. https://t.co/FF9dG6Tfo1

— Paul Stanley (@PaulStanleyLive) May 11, 2016

However, Tweed wasn't swayed by Stanley's explanation. She wrote back:

you can't apologize for someone else. It's not up to you.He feels the way he feels. He would NEVER do that to you.NEVER

— Mrs ShannonTSimmons (@shannonleetweed) May 11, 2016

Simmons himself has yet to publicly comment on Stanley's comments, but his wife's Twitter battle with Stanley suggests there may be some dissension within the rock group.

Speaking to Newsweek about the circumstances of Prince's death on April 21, Simmons said: "His drugs killed him. What do you think, he died from a cold?"

Simmons later published a lengthy apology on his Twitter account, writing: "I apologize—I have a long history of getting very angry at what drugs do to the families/friends of the addicts."

pic.twitter.com/OvpB6pvES8

— Gene Simmons (@genesimmons) May 11, 2016

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