Gene Simmons settles suit with ex-girlfriend

NEW YORK — Gene Simmons of the rock group Kiss has settled a defamation lawsuit brought against him by a former girlfriend who charged that he made her sound like a “sex-addicted nymphomaniac” during a documentary shown on VH1.

The settlement, announced Wednesday, said the “amicable resolution” of Georgeann Walsh Ward’s lawsuit over the way she was portrayed in the documentary “When Kiss Ruled the World” involved no payment of money to her.

Ward, 53, was a girlfriend of Simmons’ in the 1970s. She filed the lawsuit in January 2005, alleging that the documentary defamed her by juxtaposing Simmons’ commentary about himself with photographs that included her.

The settlement of Ward’s lawsuit, announced by Simmons spokesman Stan Rosenfield, includes recognition by her that the rocker played no role in the production, editing or selection and inclusion of her photographs in the documentary.

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The documentary chronicled the band’s 30-year career, its impact on rock music and the its “wild” antics during a career that produced hits such as “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “Detroit Rock City.”

Simmons says during the show, “There wasn’t a girl that was off limits, and I enjoyed every one of them,” Ward’s court papers say.

They say photos of her appeared 11 times during the documentary, which was shown on the cable television music network several times in July and August 2004. In it, Simmons claimed to have had sexual encounters with 4,600 women.

Simmons says in the documentary, “I was a 24-hour whore. All I ever thought about was sex.” This, court papers say, was followed by a photo of Ward with him.

Ward’s papers say that because a photo of her with Simmons — though her name is never mentioned — was shown during remarks about his sexual adventures, she was in effect portrayed as “wild” and “unchaste.”

Simmons denied that any inferences suggested by Ward could be reasonably drawn or understood from the documentary.

“I value my early relationship with Ms. Ward and wish her well,” Simmons said in the announcement. “My quotes in the documentary that Ms. Ward took issue with were solely about me, not Ms. Ward or anyone else.”

No listed telephone number for Ward’s lawyer, Martha Martin McBrayer, could be found Wednesday. Ward’s lawsuit had sought unspecified damages.