Jack Black’s band cancels tour after backlash to bandmate’s comment on Trump assassination attempt

Jack Guy, CNN

(CNN) — Jack Black’s drama stone set Tenacious D has canceled its remaining circuit dates aft set personnel Kyle Gass sparked a backlash pinch an evident joke astir Saturday’s assassination effort connected erstwhile US President Donald Trump.

Footage posted connected societal media from nan band’s performance successful Sydney connected Sunday showed Black presenting Gass pinch a day barroom onstage and telling him to “make a wish.”

Gass responded: “Don’t miss Trump adjacent time.”

The speech prompted a telephone from 1 Australian lawmaker for nan set to beryllium deported from nan country.

In a connection to CNN connected Tuesday, Black said he was “blindsided by what was said astatine nan show.”

“I would ne'er condone dislike reside aliases promote governmental unit successful immoderate form,” he added. “After overmuch reflection, I nary longer consciousness it is due to proceed nan Tenacious D tour, and each early imaginative plans are connected hold. I americium grateful to nan fans for their support and understanding.”

Gass apologized for nan remark successful a station connected Instagram connected Tuesday.

“The statement I improvised onstage Sunday nighttime successful Sydney was highly inappropriate, vulnerable and a unspeakable mistake. I don’t condone unit of immoderate kind, successful immoderate form, against anyone,” wrote Gass.

“What happened was a tragedy, and I’m incredibly sorry for my terrible deficiency of judgement. I profoundly apologize to those I’ve fto down and genuinely regret immoderate symptom I’ve caused.”

Band members Black and Gass had been owed to play successful nan metropolis of Newcastle, New South Wales, connected Tuesday, but promoter Frontier Touring announced that nan show had been “postponed” successful an Instagram station earlier connected Tuesday.

Tenacious D was scheduled to execute successful Brisbane connected Thursday, earlier heading to Melbourne and Adelaide, and past onto New Zealand and nan US.

Backlash

While immoderate commenters interpreted nan speech arsenic a joke, Australian legislator Ralph Babet said that nan brace “should beryllium instantly removed from nan country” successful a connection posted connected X.

“To advocator and aliases wish for nan assassination of a President is egregious, disgusting, filthy, evil, and not acceptable successful immoderate way, style aliases form,” said Babet. “This was not a joke, he was deadly superior erstwhile he wished for nan decease of nan President.”

“I telephone connected nan premier curate Anthony Albanese to subordinate maine successful denouncing Tenacious D, Jack Black and set personnel Kyle Gass, and I telephone connected nan migration curate Andrew Giles to revoke their visas and deport them immediately,” Babet said connected Tuesday.

“Anything little than a deportation is an endorsement of nan shooting and nan attempted assassination of Donald J Trump,” he said.

Australian power big Kyle Sandilands besides criticized nan band.

“I will not beryllium participating successful immoderate early Tenacious D interviews,” he said. Tenacious D person antecedently appeared connected nan Kyle & Jackie O “In nan Morning” show connected KIIS radio.

On Saturday, US President Joe Biden condemned governmental unit successful nan aftermath of nan shooting.

“There is nary spot successful America for this benignant of unit – it’s sick, it’s sick, it’s 1 of nan reasons why we person to merge this country,” Biden told reporters.

“We cannot let for this to beryllium happening. We cannot beryllium for illustration this. We cannot condone this.”