In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Gene Simmons was asked whether or not David Lee Roth is still the opening act on KISS' End Of The Road tour (Roth has been replaced by performance painter Garibaldi).

Simmons stated: "Not. It bears noting that during Dave’s heyday, nobody did what he did. He was the ultimate frontman. Not Plant, not Rod Stewart, nobody. He took being a frontman way beyond anything. And then, I don’t know what happened to him… something. And you get modern-day Dave. I prefer to remember Elvis Presley in his prime. Sneering lips, back in Memphis, you know, doing all that. I don’t want to think of bloated naked Elvis on the bathroom floor."

In response to Simmons' comments, Roth took to social media to share the image below:

And now, speaking with US Weekly, Gene has issued an apology to Dave (see video below).

Says Gene: "I am so sorry and ashamed, actually, that I hurt David's feelings. I'm the guy, actually, that saw them (Van Halen) in a club, signed them to my production company Man Of A Thousand Faces, flew them to New York, produced their first 24-track 15-song demo and championed the band. And, actually, we took David out as our opening act on the tour. And in the course of an interview... you hear me talking, I just sort of stream of consciousness... I don't mean to hurt people's feelings, and every once in a while, diarrhea of the mouth comes out.

"I read that quote, and somehow, the way they put it together... I think I said something like, 'Nobody touched David in his prime, not Robert Plant, not Jagger, not anybody… He was the king.' And then somehow there was a segue to Elvis bloated on the ground and fat and naked and I don't wanna see that. I wasn't talking about David, but that doesn't matter. What matters is, I hurt David's feelings, and that's more important than the intent. So I sincerely apologize for that. I didn't mean to hurt his feelings. It reminds me of the guy that gets out of a truck and says, 'Hey, I'm sorry, buddy. I didn't mean to run you over.' Well, what the fuck's the difference? You've been run over."

The interviewer then asks Gene: "Do you think possibly, and pure speculation on my part, that his upset may have been because of how highly he regards you and values your... like you said, you signed up all those demos. You were the driving force behind it before he was a rock star, before he was who he is, that you found that. Do you think that how admired and respected that you are, that that could be..."

Gene: "Nah. I don't think anybody gives two shits about what I think, and that's the way it should be, treat everybody sort of on an equal plane. This is gonna get me in trouble too. Even the Pope poops every day. You know, this kind of the humanity of it all. I'm not better than you; you're not better than me. And feelings... that includes the Pope, who's a good guy and everything... feelings are human, and anybody can hurt your feelings. I mean, you can be the king of anything, and a kid can come over and say, 'Eh, you stink,' in front of everybody else, and it can hurt your feeelings. So, for that I'm really sorry about. I never meant to hurt his feelings. But in the way the words came out, yeah, I could see where that was the impression. Not my intention."