Nikki Sixx: "Gene Simmons is an overrated guy that dresses like a clown"

Days after he verbally attacked Gene Simmons for his controversial Prince comments, Nikki Sixx has launched a fresh tirade against the KISS bassist.

The whole furore erupted last week when Simmons said that Prince’s untimely death was “a choice” and described it as “pathetic that he killed himself.”

Gene’s KISS bandmate Paul Stanley was quick to condemn the comments and apologised on his behalf before The Demon issued his own lengthy retraction.

Despite the apology, Nikki Sixx elbowed into the melee, tweeting: “.@genesimmons recent heartless and uneducated remarks about Prince’s death shows why he’s not my hero anymore or anybody’s. #FromHeroToZero”

Speaking on his Sixx Sense radio show over the weekend, the former Mötley Crüe star stuck the boot into Simmons once again blasting his musicianship, views and (alleged) political alignments.

"Nothing that Gene Simmons says resonates with me,” Sixx said. “When you're in Gene's position, you should have a little bit more than a narrow-minded, bullying sense of what's happening on the earth. And he said that if you're depressed, kill yourself. He is pro Trump, he is pro a lot of things that I think are negative."

Nikki continued: "I think that he’s an overrated, lucky guy that dresses like a clown. (He) wrote some good songs, hasn't in a long time, and loves to brag about himself.

"I like my heroes to be humble. I like my heroes to have compassion. And I like my heroes to be open to change. I don't like my heroes to be egotistical assholes. Gene Simmons, you're no longer my hero."

KISS and Mötley Crüe co-headlined 46 shows together across North America and Australia in 2012 and 2013 on the imaginatively titled tour, The Tour.