Radio.com recently spoke with Joel Peresman, president and CEO of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, about this year's event, which was mired by the controversy surrounding KISS' induction. An excerpt from the interview is available below:

Radio.com: One nice surprise was Gene Simmons’ speech; it was surprisingly gracious.

Peresman: "It was a lovely speech, it was actually kind of classy, as opposed to Paul Stanley’s. That speech was the best advertisement for (pointing out that) what we did was right. He’s been almost borderline racist, not in that speech, but in other interviews talking about how hip-hop artists shouldn’t be inducted because they don’t play instruments. It’s like, 'What are you, kidding?' And he talks about the nominating committee, and how those guys don’t buy records. Those guys buy records! They’re f—ing fans! Those guys are writers and critics and musicians. Those are the people who buy records and got into the business because they love music."

According to radio.com, shortly after the interview went live and the "borderline racist" comment began circulating, Stanley contacted Radio.com to offer his side of the story. Following is an excerpt from that interview:

Radio.com: So I understand you read our interview with Joel Peresman. What was your reaction to his critique of your speech?

Paul Stanley: "I was smiling. Because look, the guy is clearly reeling from my exposing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for what it is. He’s doing damage control. But he’s obviously never had an adversary who could articulate a point of view like I could. And, in desperation, he’s attributing Gene’s quotes to me. I never said anything that could be accused of racism. If Peresman wants to point a finger, those quotes were all Gene’s. It doesn’t change the basic truth of what I said. It’s interesting: instead of looking at my credentials, I would think, why not look at Joel Peresman’s credentials? What has he done to qualify him to run the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? What did he do? He worked at Madison Square Garden as a Vice President. Well, as far as I’m concerned, delivering newspapers doesn’t qualify you as an expert on literature."

Radio.com: Gene has mentioned his issues with disco and hip-hop being included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and it seems he was accused of racism based on that. But what do you say to someone who says “Paul Stanley is a racist?”

Paul Stanley: "It’s ridiculous. It’s an act of desperation and I understand it. And Joel Peresman is, quite honestly, a pencil pusher, and he’s in a position of being able to voice the point of view of an organization which is questionable at best."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

KISS took their place in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame on April 10th in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center. Check out new, high quality footage of the band's induction below:

KISS appeared on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon on April 10th as well. Check out their performance below featuring 'Hotter Than Hell' and 'Firehouse':

The original four members of KISS - Ace Frehley, Peter Criss, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley - visited the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame press room for photos as Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine, who made an impassioned induction speech, and Frehley took questions.