Gene Simmons Sex Tape

(Author's Note: Since Associated Content wrongfully changed the title of my previous submission, I am republishing this article. Gene Simmons confirmed on his Web site that he appears in the sex tape. I apologize to my subscribers for the duplicate piece.)

It appears we can add KISS rocker Gene Simmons to the ever-growing number of celebrities whose sex tapes can found on the wondrous World Wide Web. The most recent celebrity sex tape starring Gene Simmons and an unknown young lady rumored to be a model surfaced on the Web site GenesSecret.com, and according to AOL Music News, the video has "spread like wildfire."

Gene Simmons, of course, has been in a relationship ("happily unmarried" as Simmons describes it) with actress Shannon Tweed for more than twenty-three years. The beautiful Shannon Tweed has starred in a number of B-movies, many of which are considered soft-porn and are shown repeatedly late at night on premium movie channels like Cinemax.

The couple were featured on A & E's series "Family Jewels," where they put their real life relationship on display. More recently, Gene Simmons was "fired" by Donald Trump on "The Celebrity Apprentice."

On his own Web site, genesimmons.com, Gene Simmons comments on the video by saying, "Hi everyone, You may have heard or seen the garbage that has sprung up from my past. Rest assured the proper legal team is looking at all ramifications and options. And us? Shannon, Nick and Soph are happy and healthy. All is well. And thank you all for the kind words of support."

Of course, technology has forever altered the two worlds of celebrity and sex. Those with a voyeuristic nature no longer need to peep through windows and keyholes, they need merely access the Internet. Do celebrities make more sex tapes than the rest of us? I doubt it. But, unfortunately, there is more money to be made from theirs than from ours.

In this tabloid culture, two things that are bound to sell are often combined in one DVD-sized package - and that's the celebrity sex tape. Some celebrities, such as Dustin Diamond, deliberately release their sex tapes for money. Some celebrities have their private moments stolen, just as they might their wallets. In any event, this is hardly a plague and barely a nuisance. The fact that people shake their heads at celebrity sex tapes is more telling about them than it is about celebrities.

The privacy laws being what they are have adequately put celebrities and the rest of us on notice. If you don't want people watching what you do in private, don't film it. Or if you do, keep the evidence under lock and key. And if you want us to see, that's fine too. Just don't charge $49.95 - that's highway robbery.