Gene Simmons has reaped a whirlwind of controversy since referring to Prince's death as "pathetic" — some of it from his fellow Kiss co-founder Paul Stanley.

Simmons quickly apologized for his comments, but not before angering a number of people who felt he was wrong to publicly pass judgment. Stanley, for one, made it clear he didn't share his bandmate's opinions, telling Twitter followers he was "embarrassed by" Simmons' "cold clueless statements" and apologizing on his behalf.

Stanley's statement provoked the ire of Simmons' wife Shannon Tweed, who wrote, "We ALL have our failings but true friends don't point at them & throw you under the bus! Especially partners of 40 years!" Undaunted, Stanley cautioned Tweed not to "confuse walking under the bus with being thrown under."

"You can’t apologize for someone else," retorted Tweed. "It’s not up to you. He feels the way he feels. He would never do that to you – never." She later offered her followers a quote attributed to Dr. Seuss: "Be who you are and say what you feel, those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind."

Stanley might have clashed with Tweed over his refusal to stand by Simmons, but he has the support of Nikki Sixx. Sixx, who publicly clashed with Simmons in the past over an insensitive offhand remark regarding depression, weighed in via his own Twitter account, calling Simmons' Prince comments "heartless and uneducated" and saying the whole thing "shows why he’s not my hero anymore or anybody’s."

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