Gene Simmons has said some pretty outlandish stuff in the last …lifetime, including recently saying he would send drug addicts to “work camps” if he were president. However, the most eyebrow-raising thing he’s done in recent times is easily his attempt to trademark the rocker’s ‘devil horns’ hand gesture as his own – something he’s now come to admit he doesn’t regret in the slightest.
In an interview with The Windsor Star, the KISS rocker made it perfectly clear that he doesn’t regret his attempt the hand symbol, despite his withdrawal of the trademark application less than two weeks after it was initially filed.
“I regret nothing. Wake up every morning and let your conscience be your guide,” Simmons said. “Did you know I own the money bag logo? The dollar sign with the bag of money. I own all kinds of things. I own ‘motion pictures’ as a trademark. Anyone who thinks that’s silly – the silliest thing I’ve ever done is wear more makeup and higher heels than your mommy.”
“People said, ‘You can’t do that.’ Actually, bitch – I can. I can do anything I want to do.”
As Pitchfork notes, Simmons doesn’t actually own the trademark to the money bag logo, nor does he own the phrase ‘motion pictures’ either. However, he does apparently own the phrase ‘motion’ when it is used to refer to “production and distribution of theatrical motion pictures.”
Following Simmons’ initial attempt to trademark the hand gesture (the abandonment of which he is yet to explain), he attracted much criticism, including those close to the late Ronnie James Dio, who is often credited as the symbol’s creator.
Vinny Appice, who played with Dio frequently, said during a podcast that Dio would be “pissed off” to hear about Simmons’ trademark attempt.
“Ronnie’s hand gesture thing is an old Italian thing; it’s called the maloik,” he said. “And his grandmother showed him that and used to do that, and so did the elders in my family too. And that’s to put… one way’s to put horns on people, and the other way is to wish ’em good luck. So Gene couldn’t have invented it, because it’s an old Italian thing. And if Ronnie was alive, man, he’d be pissed off. Oh, yeah!”
Check out one of Gene Simmons’ finer moments, by was of the classic KISS track ‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’, below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlSFmotba2I
