Frontman Jack Black has cancelled the remainder of Tenacious D’s sold-out Australian tour and cast doubt on the comedy band’s future after his bandmates said they hope whoever tries to assassinate Donald Trump “next time” doesn’t “fail.”
Nearly 24 hours after an assassin missed blowing the former president’s head off by an inch or two, Tenacious D took the stage in Sydney, Australia. During Sunday’s performance, co-frontman Black and the audience sang “Happy Birthday” to guitarist Kyle Gass. Black then asked Gass to give a birthday wish. Gass held the microphone to his face and said, “Don’t miss Trump next time.”
Unsurprisingly, Black, like all Hollywood actors with a penchant for violence, is a huge supporter of Joe Biden.
The impact of Gass’ comments was immediate and unsurprising…
On Monday, Australian Federal Senator Ralph Babette called for Tenacious D’s expulsion from the country. “There is no place in Australia for those who wish to assassinate others,” Babette wrote on Xwitter. He has made the following public statement:
Tenacious D should be immediately deported after wishing for the assassination of Donald Trump during their Sydney concert.
I strongly condemn the call to political violence made by Tenacious D in Sydney on Sunday. Advocating or wishing for the assassination of a President is outrageous, abhorrent, filthy and evil and is unacceptable in any form. This is not a joke and he was serious when he wished for the President’s death.
…
Any action short of deportation would be an endorsement of the shooting and assassination attempt against Donald J. Trump.
As an aside, despite having the video, the sleazy far-left Deadline used the word “alleged” to describe the “don’t miss it next time” comment.
Anyway, initially, Tenacious D’s next performance was simply Postponed the.
“Frontier Touring regrets that tonight’s Tenacious D concert at Newcastle Entertainment Centre has been postponed,” the band said. statement A message from the promoter: “Ticket holders are urged to hold on to their tickets until further information is available.”
but.
On Tuesday, Black took to social media statement The announcement was made that the entire tour was cancelled and the band’s creative future was on hold.
“I was shocked by the content of Sunday’s show,” Black wrote on Instagram, “I do not condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form.”
And then the shocking news came.
“After much consideration, we no longer feel it is appropriate to continue touring with Tenacious D and all future creative plans have been put on hold. We thank our fans for their support and understanding.”
As a free speech extremist, it’s easy to draw the line…violenceGus encouraged violence. Period. He may have presented it as a joke, but he made it cool and condoned wishing death on a man who was a husband, father, grandfather, and former president.
There’s a reason it’s illegal to wish death on the president of the United States: it amounts to incitement and provocation. Sure, comedians (and Tenacious D are comedians) should distance themselves as much as possible, and I’ve defended countless left-wing comedians, but again, wishing violence on anyone, especially a former president and front-runner to become president, crosses the line of free speech.
Does that mean Tenacious D should be blacklisted and disappear into the cornfields?
no.
Everyone deserves a second chance, including Mr. Black, who did the right thing here.
And yet to desire murder is to encourage murder, and that is an easy line to draw, morally and rhetorically.
John Nolte’s first and last novel Borrowed time, Winning 5-Star Rave Reviews Submissions from our everyday readers. You can read excerpts here here And a detailed review here. Also available in hard cover and Kindle and Audiobooks.
