Ouch, Gene Simmons; you’ve been schooled — by someone who knows a thing or two about schooling.
Amid news that KISS bassist Simmons is attempting to trademark the “horns” hand gesture as his own, University of Texas at Austin president Greg Fenves decided to poke fun at the rocker — presumably with index and pinky finger extended — over the effort.
“Sorry, @genesimmons, Longhorns have been doing [horns hand gesture] since the ’50s — more than 20 years before KISS got going,” Fenves wrote.
Sorry, @genesimmons, Longhorns have been doing ???? since the 50s — more than 20 years before KISS got going https://t.co/a4DF8ItizF
— Greg Fenves (@gregfenves) June 15, 2017
Fenves was referring to the “Hook ’em Horns” gesture used by the university.
Granted, the hand gesture Simmons is seeking to trademark varies slightly from the university’s, which calls for the horn-thrower’s thumb to grasp the middle two fingers.
Simmons’ trademark application, which states that he’s been using the hand gesture since at least as early as November 1974, describes the symbol as “a hand gesture with the index and small fingers extended upward and the thumb extended perpendicular.”
Even so, Fenves isn’t the only one who’s taken Simmons to task for attempting to trademark the gesture.
The widow of singer Ronnie James Dio, who’s widely credited with popularizing the “horns” hand gesture, told TheWrap on Thursday that she found the trademark bid “disgusting.”
“To try to make money off of something like this is disgusting,” Wendy Dio told TheWrap. “It belongs to everyone; it doesn’t belong to anyone … It’s a public domain; it shouldn’t be trademarked.”
“It’s laughable, I think, quite honestly,” Dio added. “I think he’s made a complete fool of himself.”
Meanwhile, Motley Crue alum Nikki Sixx wisecracked on Twitter that he was considering trademarking the middle-finger gesture.