Jack Black Ends Tenacious D Tour After Bandmate Jokes About Trump Shooting
Jack Black Ends Tenacious D Tour After Bandmate Jokes About Trump Shooting - The New York Times
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Jack Black Ends Tenacious D Tour After Bandmate Jokes About Trump Shooting
At a concert in Australia, Kyle Gass made a comment suggesting that he wished the shooter had not missed former President Trump during an assassination attempt.
Tenacious D, the American rock-comedy duo that includes the movie star Jack Black, announced on Tuesday that the remainder of its tour would be canceled and that all future plans were on pause after the band’s other member, Kyle Gass, made an offhand comment onstage about the assassination attempt on former President Donald J. Trump.
A representative for the duo confirmed that Black had brought out a cake at the ICC Sydney Theater in Australia on Sunday to celebrate Gass’s 64th birthday. When Black asked Gass to “make a wish,” Gass responded, “Don’t miss Trump next time.” Videos of the moment were circulated widely online.
In a statement posted to social media on Tuesday, Black, known for “School of Rock” and “King Kong,” said he “was blindsided by what was said at the show,” adding, “I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form.”
“After much reflection,” he continued, “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.” In June, Black, 54, attended a star-studded fund-raiser for President Biden, at which he gave a speech in American flag-themed overalls.
Gass posted an apology to social media on Tuesday morning, stating that “the line I improvised onstage Sunday night in Sydney was highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake.”
“I don’t condone violence of any kind, in any form, against anyone,” he wrote. “What happened was a tragedy, and I’m incredibly sorry for my severe lack of judgment. I profoundly apologize to those I’ve let down and truly regret any pain I’ve caused.”
Michael Greene said on Tuesday that Greene Talent, Gass’s talent agency, had parted ways with him.
Shortly before the announcement that the entire tour was canceled, the band, which has been active since 1994, postponed its Tuesday date in Broadmeadow, Australia.
In the wake of Gass’s onstage remarks, Senator Ralph Babet of the center-right United Australia party called for the duo to be deported. In a lengthy statement posted online, he said, “Tenacious D should be immediately removed from the country after wishing for the assassination of Donald Trump at their Sydney concert.”
During a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, a man fired shots toward the stage while the former president was speaking. One spectator was killed, and Trump was rushed off, blood visible around his right ear. The shooter was killed by the Secret Service, and his motive remains unclear.
It is not the first time a celebrity has faced fallout from a joke about Trump. In May 2017, Kathy Griffin’s career was put on ice after she posed for a photograph holding a severed-head Halloween mask of Trump, who was then the president, doused in blood-like ketchup.
Maya Salam is an editor and reporter, focusing primarily on pop culture across genres. More about Maya Salam
Donald Trump
Our Coverage of the Trump Rally Shooting
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The Investigation: The motives of the 20-year-old gunman who tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump
remain a mystery, even after the F.B.I. gained access to his cellphone.
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Secret Service Under Scrutiny: The agency is
facing questions about why the building from which the gunman fired was left out of the security perimeter.
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The Gunman: In interviews, former classmates of the suspect
described him as intelligent but solitary, someone who tried to avoid teasing by his classmates.
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Trump Devotees React: Some of Trump’s followers had long viewed him as handpicked by God. The attempted assassination has only
increased such quasi-religious rhetoric.
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Online Conspiracy Theories: Soon after the shooting, claims that President Biden and his allies ordered the attack on Trump, or that Trump staged the shooting,
spread fast across social media.
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