Gene Simmons says KISS costume prevents "grinding"

KISS bassist Gene Simmons performs during the Summer Festival in Quebec City July 16, 2009.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - KISS bassist Gene Simmons on Friday denied brushing up against a make-up artist and "grinding" against her, saying his codpiece-style stage costume made that impossible.

Simmons' legal team filed court papers in Los Angeles asking a judge to declare that accuser Victoria Jackson has suffered no harm from the star of costume rock and reality television.

Simmons' lawyers said Jackson has threatened to sue over the "alleged assault that never occurred" unless he pays her $185,000.

The dispute stems from a November 2009 appearance Simmons and fellow band member Eric Singer made on the ESPN television show "SportsCenter."

Jackson has stated in a letter to Simmons, 60, that he hugged and "grinded" her in a hallway at ESPN studios in Los Angeles, when he was there for "SportsCenter."

But Simmons' lawyers say Jackson's grinding allegations are "implausible if not impossible" because he was in his KISS costume with a codpiece that sits over the groin.

KISS began its career in the 1970s and scored hits with "Detroit Rock City" and "Rock and Roll All Nite." Simmons has since become a reality TV star on "Gene Simmons: Family Jewels".

An ESPN spokesman said the company was not involved in the lawsuit.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Jill Serjeant)