Kiss have been dropped from the planned Michael Jackson tribute concert over comments made about the singer by bassist Gene Simmons.
The glam rock legends had been booked to take part in the show, at Cardiff Millennium Stadium on October 8 alongside Smokey Robinson, Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green, but the booking had attracted criticism over Simmons commenting in recent years over child abuse allegations.
Jackson was acquitted of molestation charges in 2005, but Simmons had been vocal on the issue in recent years, even making comments within days of the singer’s death in 2009. Most notably, he once told Classic Rock magazine: "Well, you know, where there’s smoke there's fire. There's no question in my mind he molested those kids. Not a doubt."
Now, after criticism, the band have been removed according to Billboard.com, with Global Events Live CEO Chris Hunt saying:
Under the circumstances, we fully agree that even though Kiss is a band Michael admired, we have no choice but to rescind our invitation for them to appear at our tribute concert.
This is the latest setback for the concert, which is endorsed by Jackson's mother and several of his siblings, but opposed by brothers Jermaine and Randy, who do not believe it should happen during the involuntary manslaughter trial of his Doctor Conrad Murray.
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