Did Tenacious D break up? Trump joke sparks questions about band's future

By Dan Condon and Al Newstead, ABC News

American comedy rock duo Tenacious D have hit international headlines this week after member Kyle Gass made comments at a Sydney concert on Sunday night about the recent attempted assassination of former US president Donald Trump.

The rest of the band's sold-out Australian and New Zealand tour has been cancelled, disappointing their many fans who have waited 11 long years to see them back in the country.

We're here to unpack some key questions about the band and the current situation.

Who is Tenacious D?

Tenacious D are a Grammy-winning musical comedy duo comprising bankable Hollywood actor, comedian and musician Jack Black, and his friend and collaborator of more than 30 years, Kyle Gass.

The pair first met in the mid-1980s as performers in Californian theatre troupe the Actors' Gang and began writing music together. They debuted in 1994 as Tenacious D (named after a basketball commentary term: "tenacious defence"), splicing comedy and classic rock.

Black once described the band as "Simon & Garfunkel meets Black Sabbath", lampooning classic rock cliches with generous helpings of swearing, fart jokes, sexual and satanic silliness, and at least one memorable power ballad counselling to 'F... Her Gently'.

Their 2001 self-titled debut album saw them perform with arena-sized acts including Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam and Tool.

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has regularly collaborated with the group, starring as Satan in the music video for their signature hit 'Tribute', and again in their 2006 film and accompanying second album, The Pick of Destiny.

Even when Jack Black's acting career took off in the 2000s - thanks to the success of films such as High Fidelity, School of Rock and Peter Jackson's King Kong reboot - his friendship with Gass endured.

Tenacious D's third album, The Rize of the Fenix, was a Top 10 chart hit in Australia, the US, UK, and across Europe. Its 2018 follow-up, Post-Apocalypto, served as the duo's fourth album and soundtrack to an animated series of the same name.

What happened at the Tenacious D concert?

The second show of Tenacious D's 'Spicy Meatball' Australian tour took place at the ICC Theatre in Sydney on Sunday night. It just so happened to also be Kyle Gass's 64th birthday.

At one point during the show, a robot brings a cake out on stage. Jack Black asks Gass to make a wish, to which Gass responds "Don't miss Trump next time", referencing the attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania on the weekend.

The comments were captured on video and posted to social media, prompting a flurry of reactions.

Many found the comments abhorrent. Australian Senator Ralph Babet called for the band's immediate deportation and Australian ambassador to the US and former prime minister Kevin Rudd said it made him "physically sick" and that the band should "grow up and find a decent job".

What has the fallout been?

This week, the band postponed their Newcastle show, just hours before it was due to begin.

At the time, Frontier Touring told the ABC there was no further comment.

Hours later, Jack Black took to Instagram to make a statement distancing himself from Gass's comments and announcing that the remainder of the sold-out Australian tour would not go ahead.

"I was blindsided by what was said at the show on Sunday," he wrote. "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 then made his own statement, apologising for his off-the-cuff comments and the impact they had.

"The line I improvised onstage Sunday night in Sydney was highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake," he wrote.

"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 apologise to those I've let down and truly regret any pain I've caused."

"Frontier Touring regret to advise that Tenacious D's concert tonight at Newcastle Entertainment Centre has been postponed," a statement from the tour promoters read.

"Ticket holders are asked to hold onto their tickets until further information is available."

It might all be too late. The Hollywood Reporter reports that Gass has already been dropped by Greene Talent, the agency that represents him.

Some speculate that this could spell the end for Tenacious D, a group that often must compete for attention amid Jack Black's packed film schedule.

One thing is for sure: they will have some work ahead of them if they are to win back the sector of their support base who were disgusted by the comment.

Their music has always prioritised absurdity, but publicly Black and Gass have leaned left in their politics. They have played benefit concerts for Barack Obama and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

In 2020, they teamed up with US non-profit Rock The Vote, releasing an all-star cover of Rocky Horror Picture Show number 'Time Warp' encouraging American voters not to "step to the right".

The duo were also scheduled to play Rock The Vote concerts this October ahead of the US election. In light of recent events, it is unclear if those shows will go ahead.

Just last month, Jack Black publicly endorsed President Joe Biden at a celebrity fundraising event, hosted in Los Angeles by Hollywood elite George Clooney and Julia Roberts, which raised a reported US$30 million for Biden's campaign.

Dressed in "kick-ass American flag overalls" and a Biden T-shirt, Black joked about turning down several other events in order to appear.

"My President needs me! … and then [my manager] hit me with the big one, 'You have nothing to wear. Your good suit is at the cleaners'," he said at the event.

"When Democracy's at stake, Jack Black answers the call."

The band's self-titled 2001 debut closes with the track 'City Hall', where Black and Gass comically invoke "all you motherf**kers in the streets" to rise up and riot to depose political leaders.

The punchline? The pair instate themselves as kings whose ill-informed decrees lead to internal squabbling.

Post-Apocalypto introduced a stronger thread of political satire to their musical comedy.

The setting for the 2018 animated series was a post-apocalyptic America ruled by Donald Trump Jr, depicted as a squalid dictator protecting The White House with a militia composed of Nazis and KKK members (as heard in their song 'March').

In a 2019 interview with Californian radio station KLOS, the duo were asked what the biggest uncertainty about adding a political perspective was.

"I guess losing half of our fanbase," Gass responded. "I think whenever you stick your neck out there and try to say something important … It's a little scary."

Black added: "Whenever you take a stand, there's a certain amount of risk, but if you get the sack for it, then by the gods, you do what you know is right."

How is social media responding?

Reactions are divided, ranging from shock to vilification and disappointment from Australian fans who are missing out on Tenacious D's first shows here in 11 years.

An Instagram post from promoters Frontier Touring announcing the tour's cancellation features many calling the situation a "wild overreaction".

"He only said what we were all thinking. Serious over reaction," reads the top comment.

"I think the apology statement was needed but [I don't know] about cancelling the whole tour," reads another.

"How ridiculous. I have heard bands AND comedians say way worse," remarks another, while someone noted the irony of the tour title: "The meatball was too spicy".

But Tenacious D's Instagram account has been bombarded with condemnation of Gass's joke.

A video post promoting the duo's cover of Britney Spears hit '…Baby One More Time' on the red carpet for Kung Fu Panda 4 (which stars Black in the titular role) is filled with backlash.

"To wish violence on someone is SICK," reads one top comment.

"Disgraceful making pro-assassination comments. Will never listen to you again," reads another.

Over on X, fans have criticised Black for throwing Gass "under the bus" with his statement, speculating he is prioritising his acting career prospects over their friendship.

"I really did not think he was this much of a careerist that he would do this to his friend of 3 decades but I guess this is who he really is. Sad to see," one user wrote.

- ABC