UPDATE: 7/21/24 8:20 a.m.
What started as a postponement has now turned into a full cancellation.
One-half of the rock group Tenacious D, Jack Black, announced they canceled the remaining tour dates after Kyle Gass made a terribly placed Trump assassination joke live on-stage last week.
Black shut down the joke immediately when Gass made it.
In an Instagram post, Black said all other creative endeavors are also on pause.
Original:
Brian Linder
pennlive.com
Kyle Gass has had a tough week, but the guy earned it.
Gass, one half of the popular rock duo Tenacious D, got attention for all the wrong reasons when he was presented a birthday cake on stage during the group’s Sunday show in Australia and told to “make a wish.”
“Don’t miss Trump next time,” was Gass’ wish.
The aftermath has not been kind for Gass and his bandmate, actor Jack Black.
Black took to Instagram to claim he was “blindsided” by the comment while announcing the cancellation of the rest of the band’s tour, which included an October stop in State College.
Gass also took to Instagram to apologize.
“The line I improvised onstage Sunday night in Sydney was highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake,” Gass wrote on Instagram. “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 any pain I’ve caused.”
But, as Billboard pointed out early Friday morning, that apology appears to have been deleted from Gass’ account.
Instead, the latest post is a video shot from a helicopter and captioned, “Birthday helicopter ride around Sydney Harbour, hours before the storm.”
Deleting the post isn’t likely to help Gass as he attempts to move forward from the situation.
Black has spoken out against the comment on Instagram.
“I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form,” he wrote on Instagram. “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 fans for their support and understanding.”
Black and Gass have been performing as Tenacious D since 1994.
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