Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and their manager, Doc McGhee, have been served with a lawsuit stemming from the October 2021 COVID death of Francis Stueber, a longtime guitar tech for KISS.
The suit was filed by another longtime employee, hairstylist David Matthews, who claims they didn’t act fast enough to help Stueber — and then fired him for speaking out
Matthews says he urged Stueber to contact Stanley to arrange being sent to the hospital, and Stueber initially agreed to do so. Stanley also advised him to get to a hospital, but Matthews says McGhee told him Stueber didn’t want to go.
Stanley called Stueber again, who said he would go, and McGhee promised to have a Live Nation representative take him.
According to the suit, an hour later, McGhee told Matthews that Stueber was being tested with an oxygen meter to see if he really needed to go to the hospital.
Matthews says, “Unfortunately, it was apparent that Mr. McGhee did not act in a timely manner. The Live Nation representative did not arrive until the following morning. When visitors entered Mr. Stueber’s room at about 1 a.m., he was found dead.”
Rolling Stone reported on the death and blamed KISS for having lax COVID protocols on tour.
Matthews was fired last May after 30 years and is suing for wrongful termination, retaliation in violation of labor code and failure to pay all wages.
Simmons, Stanley and McGhee have not commented on this story.