Jack Black cancels Tenacious D tour after he is ‘blindsided’ by Trump comment
Comedy rock band scraps tour after row over Trump joke by bandmate
Jenni Frazer is a freelance journalist
Jack Black, the Jewish actor and musician who is the lead singer of the comedy rock band Tenacious D, has abruptly cancelled the rest of the band’s Australian tour, after a row over his bandmate’s comments about Donald Trump in the wake of the assassination attempt on the former president.
Celebrating Kyle Gass’s 64th birthday on stage in Sydney on Sunday, the musicians brought on a cake and asked Gass to make a wish. Before he blew out the candles, Gass wisecracked: “Don’t miss Trump next time”.
But the comment backfired spectacularly, as first fans denounced the remark and then a senior Australian politician, Senator Ralph Babet, called for the band to be deported.
In a comment on Twitter X, Black claimed he had been “blindsided” by what was said at the show. “I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form,” he said. He said that he no longer felt it was appropriate to continue the Tenacious D tour, adding that “all future creative plans are on hold”.
For his part, Gass apologised on Instagram, saying that “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.”
Senator Babet said the band should be deported, adding “to advocate and or wish for the assassination of a president is egregious, disgusting, filthy, evil, and not acceptable in any way, shape or form.”
The comment made by Gass was “not a joke” and was to be taken as a “deadly serious” wish for the “death” of the former president, Mr Babet insisted. Now he appears to have got his wish that Tenacious D should leave Australia — but not through deportation.
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