“Somebody called me from, I think the BBC or somewhere, and said, ‘Gene Simmons is going to trademark the Malloy.’ So anyway, they called me and I said, ‘No.’ I said, ‘It doesn’t belong to anybody. Ronnie just made it popular.’ It’s an old, it goes back centuries ago, whatever,” Dio explained.
She then described her reaction to the trademark attempt: “And they said, ‘What do you think about Gene Simmons’ trademark?’ I said, ‘I think it’s disgusting.’ [Then the] headline, ‘Wendy Dio calls Gene Simmons disgusting.’ I was like, ‘Oh God, I did not say that.’”
Dio highlighted that her criticism was about at the trademark attempt itself, not at Simmons personally. She stressed that the Devil’s Horn sign has historical roots predating its popularization by her husband Ronnie Dio.
Gene Simmons had filed an application with the US Patent and Trademark Office in June 2017 to trademark a hand gesture that closely resembled the devil horns. He claimed he first used the gesture on stage in 1974. The controversy surrounding this attempt sparked significant backlash from the rock and metal community.
Ronnie James Dio is largely recognized for popularizing a hand gesture in the music world. He learned this gesture from his Italian grandmother, who used it to ward off the “evil eye.” This gesture has its origins in various cultures and religions. Similar hand signs have been seen in music and art long before Dio’s era, making it a shared cultural symbol rather than the unique property of any one artist.
