Kiss To Play At Michael Jackson Tribute Show Despite Gene Simmons’ ‘Pedophile’ Comments

Kiss will appear at a concert honoring late pop singer Michael Jackson this October, an announcement that has created some confusion and controversy given bassist Gene Simmons' previous anti-Jackson comments.

The Oct. 8 'Michael Forever: The Tribute Concert," to be held in Cardiff, Wales, will also feature Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera and Smokey Robinson (all of whom make much more sense stylistically), according to CNN.

Even if you can get past the question of what songs Kiss will perform to please the pop audience at the concert -- will they be digging out 'I Was Made For Lovin' You' and 'Shandi', or covering 'Beat It?' -- it's a bit tougher to imagine them honoring Jackson given what Simmons said in 2009 interviews about the much-publicized child sex abuse charges leveled at the former "King of Pop":

"Where there's smoke there's fire. There's no question in my mind [Michael] molested those kids. Not a doubt." That's what Simmons reportedly told Classic Rock magazine in 2009, going on to say, "...Michael's on tape going, 'Give the kids Jesus juice'. Which is wine. I mean it's just endless."

Many of Jackson's fans are reportedly enraged by the inclusion of Kiss in the tribute concert, despite Jackson's mother Katherine insisting the booking would thrill Jackson. One fan wrote on the event's Facebook page that "this concert has become the biggest insult to Michael's memory."

If you had to search for a common thread between Kiss and Michael Jackson, we guess you could say there were both two of the largest musical icons on the '70s. But it does seem like the last time they met up on national television it didn't go very well, either....

Watch Kiss Battle "Michael Jackson" on 'Mad TV'