Tenacious D cancel tour following Kyle Gass’ Donald Trump comments
Comedy rock icons Tenacious D faced an unavoidable amount of backlash this week, following comments made by Kyle Gass during an onstage appearance in Sydney, Australia. The show coincided with Gass’ 64th birthday, so he was presented with a cake and told to make a wish, to which he responded, “Don’t miss Trump next time”, referring to the assassination attempt on the former president, which happened only hours before.
Inevitably, these comments were the cause of controversy after fan-shot videos appeared on social media following the show. An Australian senator, Ralph Babet, even called for Tenacious D to be deported from the country as a result of the comments, writing in a statement, “Anything less than a deportation is an endorsement of the shooting and the attempted assassination of Donald J. Trump.”
Following the backlash, Tenacious D’s next scheduled performance in Newcastle, Australia, was suddenly cancelled. This cancellation also left the rest of the duo’s tour of Australia and New Zealand mired in uncertainty. Now, per a statement provided to Far Out, Jack Black has acknowledged the controversy publically for the first time.
“I was blindsided by what was said at the show on Sunday,” Black wrote, adding, “I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form”. The comedian, actor and musician concluded the brief statement by writing, “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.”
Whether or not this is the end of Tenacious D remains to be seen, but it is certainly hard to ignore the controversy the duo have caused with those onstage comments. The band have always maintained a staunch political standpoint, having previously advocated for the Democratic Party during elections, but these comments made so soon after the attempted assassination of a former president were too close to the bone for many fans.
On Saturday, a 20-year-old gunman fired eight rounds at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania. Although the perpetrator did not mortally wound the politician, a spectator was killed during the process, and many more were seriously injured.
At the time of writing, tickets for the North American leg of the Tenacious D tour, which will take place in the autumn, are still available for purchase. However, it is unclear whether those shows will, indeed, take place as scheduled.
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