Kiss frontman Gene Simmons toned down his trademark tongue action during the legendary rock band’s performance at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The epic performance by Kiss in full costume and makeup was one of the highlights of the many theatrics of Thursday morning’s family- friendly parade, watched by nearly 23 million people.
The band pulled out the stops for the performance, broadcast live on NBC, from their float outside Macy’s Herald Square, and performed a rocking Kiss medley.
But one thing missing (apart from blood spitting and fire breathing) from the Kiss act was bassist Simmons’ overtly suggestive gymnastics with his freakishly long tongue. The NBC cameras delicately panned away when he did get the much-talked-about tongue out, and there was far less lingual wagging going on.
Simmons told us he did purposely toned things down to be family-friendly. He told Page Six on Friday, “I was proud to be a part of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. My tongue is God-given. As regards the parade, my intention was to be tongue in cheek. Mostly, I kept it in my cheek.”
Kiss bulldozed their way into the beloved parade as the band, which includes founding members Simmons and Paul Stanley plus Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer, celebrates its 40th anniversary.
Kiss has been on an anniversary world tour, while Simmons, who has built a merchandising and branding empire around Kiss, recently published, “Me, Inc: Build an Army of One, Unleash Your Inner Rock God, Win in Life and Business.”
A Macy’s rep told us, “There were no restrictions placed on the Kiss appearance. Their performance was a highlight of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade’s live national broadcast which captured the very best of this legendary group.”
The broadcast, hosted by Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie, also included performances from Sting, Idina Menzel and Nick Jonas.