Legendary KISS members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley are facing legal action over the COVID-19 death of one of their longstanding guitar techs. According to his family, Paul was the catalyst for the incident.
Francis Stueber, the late guitarist for KISS, died a few days after catching COVID while on tour with the band in October 2021, according to a new lawsuit that TMZ was able to receive.
When Paul got the virus in August 2021, the family claims that COVID began to spread among the tour staff. They also claim that the tour’s inadequate safety protocols are to blame for the virus’s continued spread.
Francis’ family claims in the lawsuit that any tour participants who contracted COVID were told to stay in quarantine in a hotel room in the city where they say the protocols offered little else.
According to the lawsuit, Francis contracted COVID while in Detroit and was instructed to hide out at a Sheraton hotel. The family claims that Doc McGhee, the longtime manager of KISS, neglected to make arrangements for medical staff to visit and examine Francis at the hotel, even though Doc had promised to do so.
It’s quite tragic. According to the documents, Doc invited a fellow traveler to visit Francis at the hotel, but Francis was already dead when the visitor arrived, having passed away just two days after testing positive for the virus.
Gene, Paul, Doc, Marriott hotels, and Live Nation are being sued by Francis’ family for damages.
We contacted KISS representatives, but we haven’t heard back as of yet.