Jeff Hahne/Getty Images
Kyle Gass (left) and Jack Black of Tenacious D on stage in September 2023.
CNN
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Jack Black’s comedy rock band Tenacious D has canceled all remaining tour dates after band member Kyle Gass drew widespread criticism for a joke about Saturday’s assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump.
Footage posted on social media from the band’s concert in Sydney on Sunday showed Black Gass on stage handing him a birthday cake and asking him to “make a wish”.
Gass responded: “Don’t miss Trump next time.”
The exchange prompted a call from an Australian lawmaker to expel the band from the country.
In a statement to CNN on Tuesday, Black said he was “surprised by what was said on Sunday’s show.”
“I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form,” he added.
“After much consideration, 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.”
Band members Black and Gass were scheduled to perform in the New South Wales city of Newcastle on Tuesday, but promoter Frontier Touring announced via an Instagram post on Tuesday that the show had been “postponed,” ahead of Black’s announcement.
Tenacious D was scheduled to perform in Brisbane on Thursday, before travelling to Melbourne and Adelaide, then on to New Zealand and the US.
While some commentators interpreted the exchange as a joke, Australian Senator Ralph Babet said in a statement on X that the pair should be “immediately removed from the country”.
“Advocating and/or wishing for the assassination of a president is outrageous, disgusting, filthy, evil and in no way, shape or form acceptable,” Babet said. “This was not a joke, he was deadly serious when he wished for the president to die.”
“I call on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to join me in condemning Tenacious D, Jack Black and bandmate Kyle Gass, and I call on Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to revoke their visas and deport them immediately,” Babet said on Tuesday.
“Anything less than a deportation is an endorsement of the shooting and attempted assassination of Donald J. Trump,” he said.
Australian radio presenter Kyle Sandilands also criticized the band.
“I will not be participating in any future Tenacious D interviews,” he said. Tenacious D previously appeared on the Kyle & Jackie O “In the Morning” show on KIIS radio.
On Saturday, US President Joe Biden condemned the political violence following the shooting.
“There is no place in America for this kind of violence — it’s sick, it’s sick, it’s one of the reasons we have to unite this country,” Biden told reporters.
“We cannot allow this to happen. We cannot be this way. We cannot condone this.”