Band member Kyle Gass made the remark during a performance on Sunday, after which fellow performer Jack Black said: ‘Thank you’
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The comedy rock duo Tenacious D has cancelled the remaining dates on its “Spicy Meatball Tour” of Australia, New Zealand and the United States, after band member Kyle Gass made comment about the recent assassination attempt on Donald Trump. Jack Black, the band’s other, more famous member, is distancing himself from the remark.
The comment was made Sunday during a show in Sydney, Australia. It was Gass’s 64th birthday, and Black told him to “make a wish” for his birthday as a cake was brought out on the stage. Gass responded: “Don’t miss Trump next time.” Many in the crowd cheered, and Black replied: “Thank you.”
A clip of his remark was widely shared on social media yesterday. Chris Loesch, a singer-songwriter and husband of radio personaility Dana Loesch, commented: “Not funny and done in a foreign country is even worse.”
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The Guardian reported that Australian senator Ralph Babet demanded the pair be deported from the country.
“I call on the prime minister Anthony Albanese to join me in denouncing Tenacious D, Jack Black and band member Kyle Gass, and I call on the immigration minister Andrew Giles to revoke their visas and deport them immediately,” Babet was reported to have said on Tuesday.
“Anything less than a deportation is an endorsement of the shooting and the attempted assassination of Donald J Trump,” he added.
The band’s Tuesday night show in nearby Newcastle was cancelled Tuesday afternoon. Later, The Associated Press reported that all remaining tour dates had been cancelled.
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The band was due to perform three more times in Australia and twice in New Zealand this month, before returning to the U.S., where several show were planned in October, most of them already sold out.
Black took to Instagram on Tuesday to apologize for his bandmate’s remark. “I was blindsided by what was said at the show on Sunday,” he wrote. “I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form.”
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He added: “After much reflection, I no longer feel it is appropriate to continue the Tenacious D tour, and all future creative plans are on hold. I am grateful to the fans for their support and understanding.”
Gass also apologized on Instagram, writing: “The line I improvised Sunday night in Sydney was highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake. I don’t condone violence in any kind, in any form, against anyone. What happened was a tragedy, and I’m incredibly sorry for my severe lack of judgement.”
Sunday was not the first time the group has waded into political waters. In 2004, Black was quoted in Rolling Stone magazine delivering a sharp criticism of then-president George W. Bush.Tenacious D went on to support the 2008 presidential bid of Barack Obama, and in 2010 joined a boycott of Arizona over its new immigration laws.
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