Gene Simmons Defends Mike Tyson After Video of Altercation With Airplane Passenger
KISS rocker Gene Simmons said he agrees Mike Tyson did nothing wrong after a video emerged on Thursday (April 21) that appears to show Tyson, the celebrity, actor and pro boxer, repeatedly punching an airplane passenger in the face after being harassed.
TMZ and Yahoo! reported that Tyson seemed to lose his cool after boarding a commercial jet bound for Florida out of San Francisco on Wednesday night (April 20) when an apparent fellow traveler that might have been a fan got a bit overzealous after requesting a selfie. Footage of the subsequent altercation, evidently captured by a nearby passenger, ends with blood dripping down the traveler's head after it seems Tyson pummeled them multiple times. TMZ also reported that police were called to the scene and suggested the punching victim, who was initially uncooperative with authorities, had an extensive criminal record.
Watch the video down toward the bottom of this page.
On Friday (April 22), Simmons retweeted a post that said the social media star and pro boxer Jake Paul sided with Tyson, saying he did nothing wrong. The KISS member added only, "Agreed!"
The day before, Body Count bandleader, hip-hop artist and actor Ice-T also took to Twitter to add his thoughts. "Mike Tyson punched somebody who was Fn with him," he said. "The problem is nowadays, MFs think they WON'T get punched in the Face."
Poison drummer Rikki Rockett commented, "While I don't condone violence, I think our society has enabled people to mouth off, [harass] and get away with it thinking they can just make money off of a lawsuit if it turns physical." He added that he stands with Tyson.
See the tweets under the video.