AceShowbiz -

Gene Simmons has shared his opinion on controversy surrounding Donald Sterling's racist rant, saying that he supports the L.A. Clippers owner. The KISS bassist expressed his support to Sterling in an interview with The Wall Street Journal in which he talked about his new AMC reality series "4th and Loud" among others.

"I'm on Mel Gibson's side, Don Sterling's side and anybody who has a racist or an expletive rant privately. The difference between this guy, who's heinous of course, or anybody else is that they were caught," he said, adding that Sterling was "ambushed."

Simmons further suggested that everyone else also made racist or off-color jokes in private. "And if, because you say an off color joke or make a racist rant privately, that causes you to lose a job - nobody would have a job! Black people do it, Jews do it, Christians do it - everybody does it! It's called America. Free speech. Even if free speech insults other people. Privately. Publicly, that's different. I'm on the side of free speech in the privacy of your own home or privacy of the situation," he explained.

In late April, an audio of Sterling throwing racist remarks during an argument with a woman named V. Stiviano emerged online. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver then announced that Sterling was banned from the NBA for life and ordered the businessman to pay a $2.5 million fine.