Tenacious D‘s Kyle Gass has been dropped by his agent Michael Greene of Greene Talent in the wake of Gass’ onstage joke about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, Greene confirmed with Billboard. The news was first reported by Rolling Stone.
The joke came during a Tenacious D show at the ICC Syndey Theatre in Sydney on Sunday (July 14) after Gass’ Tenacious D partner Jack Black implored him to “make a wish” when Gass was presented with a birthday cake on stage. Gass responded, “Don’t miss Trump next time,” a reference to the attempted assassination of the former president (and newly-crowned Republican presidential nominee) during a rally in Butler, Pa. on Saturday (July 13). The tragic incident resulted in the death of one audience member and led to serious injuries for two others.
After video footage of Gass’ joke began circulating online, Black wrote via Instagram on Tuesday (July 16) that he had been “blindsided” by the comment and that “and all future creative plans” for the duo would be put on hold. “I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form,” he added.
Gass concurrently released his own statement apologizing for the remark, saying, “The line I improvised onstage Sunday night in Sydney was highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake. 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.”
Tenacious D and its Australasia tour producer, Frontier Touring, canceled a total of six shows in the wake of the backlash: Newcastle (July 16), July 18 (Brisbane), July 20 (Melbourne), July 22 (Adelaide), July 24 (Wellington) and July 26 (Auckland). As of press time, there is no word on whether the duo will still play five shows scheduled for October on its Rock D Vote Tour in five U.S. swing states ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
A representative for Gass did not immediately respond to Billboard‘s request for comment on this story.
On Tuesday, Australian Senator Ralph Babet of the United Australia Party released a statement condemning Tenacious D and requesting that they “be immediately removed from the country.” He also called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to join him in denouncing the duo and asked Immigration Minister Andrew Giles “to revoke their visas and deport them immediately.” He added, “Anything less than deportation is an endorsement of the shooting and attempted assassination” of Trump.
Trump took the stage on the first night of the Republican National Convention on Monday (July 15) with a bandage on his right ear, which was grazed by a bullet during the assassination attempt. The former president also announced Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate Monday.
To this point, authorities are still searching for a motive for the shooter, a 20-year-old registered Republican, who was killed by Secret Service snipers after firing off several rounds using an AR-15 rifle.
Black and Gass formed Tenacious D in 1994 when both were members of The Actors’ Gang theater company. The duo has released a total of four studio albums and also starred in their own self-titled HBO series that ran from 1997 to 2000.