Tenacious D is under fire for Kyle Gass’ Comment
This past weekend while performing in Australia, the comedy rock duo, Tenacious D may have gone a little too far with their sense of humor. The day after an assassination attempt on the life of former President Donald Trump, in which a bullet grazed his ear, band member Kyle Gass made what some feel was an inappropriate remark. Gass was celebrating birthday that evening when it all went down.
While onstage in Sydney on Sunday, Gass was presented with a birthday cake and asked to “make a wish” by Black. Gass responded, “Don’t miss Trump next time,” an apparent reference to the rally shooting the day before. The video of Gass saying this exploded on social media. The crowd seemed to mostly laugh at the jest and according to a few people on X, Jack Black himself chuckled at his longtime friends quip. Is this what we have come to expect from the band that tends to dip their toes in these contentious waters? When does a joke go too far?
In 1992, Jack Black and Kyle Gass joined forces. While Black was the musical theater kid who loved heavy metal, he didn’t know how to play guitar, but he could sing with outstanding range. Kyle, on the flipside, was quite, but an amazing acoustic guitarist who dug the sweet sounds of James Taylor and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
The story of the bands title emerged in 1994. The dynamic duo found a strong name when they heard sports commentator Marv Albert breaking down a team’s defense during a televised broadcast. Black clarifies that he thinks Albert might have actually said: “‘They’re playing tenacious defense.’ I don’t think you can find it on the YouTubes. That was our genius. We combined ‘D’ with ‘tenacious defense.’”
Even though he may have agreed with that line that Gass bounced back with, Black maintains that he had no idea that this was going to be the retort. In a statement Jack Black said this on his Instagram:
“I was blindsided by what was said at the show on Sunday. 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.”
Gass’ comments sparked a lot of controversy to say the least. So much so that Australian senator Ralph Babet called for him and “School of Rock” star Black to be immediately deported.
“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,” he said, according to The Guardian. “Anything less than a deportation is an endorsement of the shooting and the attempted assassination of Donald J Trump.”
Gass himself issued a statement as well to the press, “The line I improvised onstage Sunday night in Sydney was highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake,” he began. “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 I’ve let down and truly regret and pain I’ve caused.”
It was apparently not enough to save the tour, or his place with his management company. Kyle Gass was dropped by the bands talent agent a few days following the ongoing fallout regarding his comments about the assassination attempt of Trump.
Joke or not it seems like bad timing and a subject matter that would obviously cause outrage in some communities. While Tenacious D is certainly no newbie to making controversial comments, songs and videos this one was just too much for the band to endure, at least for now.
Gass returned to his Instagram profile for the first time on today, since the incident. The musician and actor opted to not focus on the occurrence, but rather on his career as he shared a throwback photo of himself posing before a pair of fashion store mannequins.
“One of my first acting roles was in the motion picture #mannequin from 1987,” was his caption to the post. Gass is not listed in the movie’s credits, as I assume he was facetiously referring to one of the actual store dummies.
What the future holds for these two is uncertain. We probably just wait for the next celebrity to say something worse.
