Judge backs Kiss star court case

Gene Simmons called himself a "whore" in the film

A judge has ruled a woman can sue Kiss frontman Gene Simmons for allegedly portraying her as a "sex-addicted nymphomaniac" in a US TV show.

Georgeann Walsh Ward, who says she is a former girlfriend of Mr Simmons, claims she was slandered in a VH1 documentary.

A New York judge denied Mr Simmons' motion to dismiss two of three claims against him.

Neither Ms Ward nor Mr Simmons' representatives were available to comment on the case.

The documentary, When Kiss Ruled The World, chronicled the band's 30-year-career and wild lifestyle. It was shown during July and August, although Ms Ward filed her lawsuit in January.

Ms Ward's court papers quote Mr Simmons as saying: "There wasn't a girl that was off limits, and I enjoyed every single one of them."

'Wild and unchaste'

At another point he says: "I was a 24-hour whore. All I ever thought about was sex." Court papers say this was followed by a photo of Ms Ward with Mr Simmons.

Her lawyers say this portrays her as being "wild" and "unchaste".

Ms Ward claims photographs of her appeared 11 times during the programme.

New York State Supreme Court Justice Rosalyn Richter let stand Ms Ward's two claims that she was depicted as unchaste or promiscuous during the documentary, even though she admitted she was in a "romantic" relationship with Mr Simmons.

The judge added that while social mores regarding sex between unmarried persons have changed, US law still says calling a woman unchaste is defamation.

But Ms Ward's claim that her likeness was used without permission was dismissed, since the programme was a documentary and not an advertisement for the band.

In the UK, Mr Simmons has been seen on Channel 4's Rock School, where he teaches students at an English boarding school how to become rock stars.