Tim Kennealy of the TheWrap reports:
Following news that KISS frontman Gene Simmons is attempting to trademark the “horns” hand gesture, TheWrap spoke to Wendy Dio, widow of deceased singer Ronnie James Dio, who’s widely credited with popularizing the hand gesture.
Wendy’s assessment of Simmons’ trademark bid? It’s “disgusting.”
“To try to make money off of something like this is disgusting,” Dio told TheWrap. “It belongs to everyone; it doesn’t belong to anyone. … It’s a public domain; it shouldn’t be trademarked.”
Dio was quick to note that her husband — who fronted groups including Black Sabbath and Rainbow — shouldn’t be credited with the gesture either. As she noted, the singer, who died in 2010, adopted the hand gesture from an old Italian sign that he picked up from his grandmother, which is used to either ward off evil or give the evil eye, depending on how it’s employed.
Dio also noted that the rock band Coven used the hand gesture, as displayed on the cover of the group’s 1969 debut album, while the cartoon version of John Lennon flashes a similar sign on the cover of the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine album, released in 1969.
Dio characterized Simmons’ effort to trademark the hand gesture as “a joke,” and noted, “It’s just crazy.”
“It’s laughable, I think, quite honestly,” Dio said, likening Simmons’ trademark bid to trying to trademark the bird or the peace sign. “I think he’s made a complete fool of himself.”
Read more at TheWrap.
source: thewrap.com
12 Responses
She`s pissed she didn’t think of it first .
Should we be surprised Simmons wants to make even more money?
…says the woman who’s behind the disgusting hologram gimmick of the great RJD.
Totally agree, Rattlehead! Wendy is trying to squeeze more money out of RJD’s legacy using the whole hologram thing, and she’s got the nerve to call out Gene? Gene’s copyright deal is going nowhere, as the “horns up” sign has been used for many years for different things. I don’t support Gene on this, but Wendy’s hypocrisy here totally blows my mind! Pot, meet kettle!
Well, I have to agree 100% with Wendy on this one. Gene has gone too far, this is absolutely not necessary.
Wendy is right here, the hand gesture is “public domain” Gene can’t copyright something that is “public domain”. How would he like it if someone tried to trademark sticking out your tongue? Also, he’s so stupid he NEVER did the Devil Horns, he was always doing the sign for “I love you” in sign language, Gene needs to get a clue.