Tenacious D, the legendary comic rock’n’roll band, has canceled its Australian tour after a joke landed it in dicey business territory.
Character actor and occasional Hollywood leading man Jack Black suddenly put the kibosh on further performances in the tour after his longtime friend, collaborator, and creative partner Kyle Glass made an edgy joke about the attempted assassination of United States presidential candidate (and former U.S. President) Donald J. Trump.
During a speech at a Pennsylvania rally on Friday, July 12, the Republican front-runner—who has since been confirmed as the Republican nominee—escaped death by assassin’s bullet by a fraction of an inch, when the projectile struck his ear instead of his skull due to a fortunately-timed head-turn.
During a Tenacious D gig in Sydney on Sunday the 14th, Jack Black presented a birthday cake to his band mate to celebrate Glass turning sixty-four, and then led the crowd in a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday.
When urged by Black to make a wish and blow out the candles, Glass closed his eyes and said “Don’t miss Trump next time.”
The audience reacted with laughter and applause.
The Internet and the popular press, alas, were not so kind. Fans on social media reacted with disgust and crowed loudly that they would never again listen to the band’s music. Ralph Babet, an Australian senator, demanded the deportation of the duo, even publicly calling on Prime Minister Andrew Giles to help him out in the matter.
Anything less than a deportation, Babet said, is an endorsement of the attempted assassination of a U.S. presidential candidate.
A few days later, on July 16, Jack Black himself commented on the matter, claiming that Glass’s joke “blindsided” him, and that he loathes “hate speech” in all its forms. He would never, he said, dream of endorsing political violence. As a result of his thoughts about the incident, he has canceled the remainder of the tour and put all future collaboration plans on hold.
