KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons has blamed the recent death of his former bandmate Ace Frehley on the latter’s “bad decisions”. Speaking to The New York Post, Simmons was characteristically frank when assessing the fall that ultimately claimed the 74-year-old Frehley‘s life.

Frehley was left hospitalized with blunt force injuries to the head after suffering a late September 2025 fall in the studio. While emergency surgery was conducted, the injuries proved to be too great to overcome, leaving his family to make the difficult decision to take him off life support this past October. With a toxicology report still pending, the Morris County Medical Examiner ruled Frehley‘s death was ruled as accidental.

Simmons‘ recent comments however seem to imply that other factors may have influenced Frehley‘s passing. He told the aforementioned publication:

“He refused [advice] from people that cared about him — including yours truly — to try to change his lifestyle. In and out of bad decisions. Falling down the stairs — I’m not a doctor — doesn’t kill you. There may have been other issues, and it breaks my heart. The saddest thing — you reap what you shall sow, unfortunately. It breaks my heart.”

He went on to speak of Frehley‘s funeral as well, offering:

“It breaks my heart. Peter Criss, our founding drummer, Paul [Stanley] and myself went to the funeral, open casket. It was just heartbreaking. Saddest of all perhaps is that Ace just couldn’t stay alive long enough to sit there proudly at the Kennedy Center and listen to – I can’t even tell you who’s going to come out … really impressive people, just to say how much KISS meant to them. What can you say – sad.”

Last night (December 06th) saw Simmons and his KISS bandmates in Paul Stanley & Peter Criss presented with the Kennedy Center Honors by U.S. President Donald J. Trump. Frehley was posthumously presented the honor with his daughter Monique being in attendance to receive the honor of his behalf.

Upon the initial passing of Frehley, Simmons and Stanley said in a joint statement:

We are devastated by the passing of Ace Frehley. He was an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history. He is and will always be a part of KISS’s legacy. Our thoughts are with Jeanette, Monique and all those who loved him, including our fans around the world.”