Actor Jack Black stated he will not continue the Tenacious D tour, following a controversial comment his bandmate, Kyle Gass, said during their recent show.
The actor from hit animated film series Kung Fu Panda, Jack Black, has spoken out against his fellow bandmate, Kyle Gass, following a controversial comment made in their latest Tenacious D concert in Sydney, Australia. The concert took place this past Sunday where Black told USA Today that he was “blindsided” by Gass’ comment: “Don’t miss Trump next time.” Black said he is ending the Tenacious D tour and pausing plans to continue working with Gass.
The comment was a reference to the latest shocking assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. “I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form,” Black stated. “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.”
During the Tenacious D show, Black presented a cake to Gass for his birthday and told him to make a wish. That was when Gass made the comment, “Don’t miss Trump next time.” In the past 24 hours, Gass’ comments received a lot of backlash. Even Tesla and Twitter/X CEO Elon Musk wrote in response to the video clip “Evil” on social media. The video showed the concert audience cheering after Gass made the comment, but Black did not acknowledge it. He just said, “Thank you,’ as he tried to get the show moving along.
The backlash went as far as Australian senator Ralph Babet calling for the band to be removed from the country. He stated on Tuesday: “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.”
Tenacious D was set to continue performing this month with tour stops in Australia and New Zealand. The band had also announced a series of “Rock D Vote” shows in the fall to benefit the nonpartisan organization Rock the Vote ahead of the presidential election. Black has been performing with Gass in Tenacious D, a comedy rock band, since 1994. They co-starred in a comedy film about the band called Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny back in 2006.
Whether this means the band is broken up for good is uncertain. Ticket companies have also yet to respond to those who bought tickets for future shows on the Tenacious D tour.
