Jack Black is canceling the Tenacious D tour and floating the possibility of scrapping the band entirely after bandmate Kyle Gass made a dark joke about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.
During a performance in Sydney on Sunday—the day Gass turned 64— Black invited his bandmate to “make a wish” as he blew out candles on a birthday cake. “Don’t miss Trump next time,” Gass said, speaking hours after the former president was wounded by a would-be assassin at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“I was blindsided by what was said at the show on Sunday,” Black wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday morning. “I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form. 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.”
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“The line I improvised onstage Sunday night in Sydney was highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake,” Gass wrote in his own post Tuesday. “I don’t condone violence of any kind, in any form, against anyone. What happened was a tragedy, and I’m incredibly sorry for my severe lack of judgement. I profoundly apologize to those that I’ve let down and truly regret any pain I’ve caused.”
The public comments came after a Tenacious D concert in Australia was abruptly postponed, and a local lawmaker separately called for Black and Gass to be deported.
The pair were set to play in Newcastle in New South Wales on Tuesday for the latest show in their Spicy Meatball Tour—their first show since Gass’ onstage joke about Trump.
No reason was given for the Newcastle show’s postponement, which came after an angry online backlash to Gass’ gag. “Frontier Touring regret to advise that Tenacious D’s concert tonight at Newcastle Entertainment Centre has been postponed,” the concert promoter announced in a Facebook post. “Ticket holders are asked to hold onto their tickets until further information is available.”
The cancellation also came on the same day that an Australian senator asked the government to boot the band out of the country.
“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,” Ralph Babet, a United Australia party senator, said in a statement.
“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,” the statement added.
