Jack Black announced on Instagram that he’s cancelled the rest of the Tenacious D world tour and placed future projects on hiatus.
This happened after his bandmate Kyle Gass sparked controversy by commenting on the recent Donald Trump assassination attempt.
At their recent Sydney show, Kyle Gass was given a birthday cake and asked to make a wish for his 64th birthday, to which he said “Don’t miss Trump next time.”
In his later statement, Black said he was “blindsided” by his bandmate’s comment and condemned any calls for political violence.
Thankfully, it’s not the commentary I was afraid he’d offered. JB sounds spineless in this, it was a joke and an honest expression of the very real existential fear people feel towards Trump rule.
I fucking hate this. Trump gets on mic everyday to wish death on some innocent groups of people but we’re fucking forbidden from joking about it towards him?
Edit: I hope everyone who downvotes me gets very peacefully and nonviolently re-educated.
JB has always been about softball though. It’s part of what we like about him. He doesn’t run anyone the wrong way. He’s out to be inoffensive.
Well there goes my respect for JB, is he a secret Trump supporter?
He’s a very popular actor/musician that isn’t looking to wade into any controversy that might damage his popular brand.
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That’s just so fucking rock and roll of him.
Some people are content to simply mind their own business. Not everyone is interested in the current controversy.
I think he mostly doesn’t want to get shot by angry Magats.
Just privileged and out of touch. You’d think he’s a celebrity or something.
Yeah, the time for civil has passed. The attempt of his life happened because no one is willing to do anything about him.
Reap what you sow by definition.
I think it’s complicated a bit by the fact that this was said on stage at one of their shows. I think canceling the tour is a gross overreaction, but with the current political climate (even ignoring the assassination attempt) I can understand some hesitancy to proceed if anyone is going to be associating them with calls for political violence.
All that said… based birthday wish, fully agree with Gass’s joke.
What joke? Hopefully the next person doesn’t miss.
Agree. Absolutely not a joke. Former president has caused, is causing, and will continue to cause active violent harm to the country, but it’s not appropriate to talk about how justified it is to stop him?
He’s literally above the law now; there is no peaceful way to adequately deal with him in a timely manner. He, his conservative judges, and the republicans in power have backed the American people into a corner of violence.
He murdered thousands of people with a willful mishandling of a pandemic virus for stupid and shortsighted reasons. He is a mass murderer and terrorist who may become President again. And people are worried about fucking decency.
Politicians are always responsible for deaths of their constituents as an indirect result of their actions, it’s just a question of how many. We set up legislative and judicial systems to address this question rather than relying on mobs and vigilantes. It’s called living in a civilized society. It’s not about decency, it’s about creating a safe society we want to live in. Personally I don’t want to live in the wild west where anyone with a gun can play judge, jury, and executioner; you may feel differently.
But I agree that the recent SCOTUS ruling is worrying, because it does appear to put the president above the law. As JFK put it, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable”. Not good, not preferable…but inevitable.
I would have much preferred the government do it’s job and protect us from this literal fucking comic book villain. But it hasn’t happened, and it probably won’t. So this is what happens.
I can’t see anything in this helmet!
- Luke Skywalker
I was with you right up until you used based…
Now I’m blocking you to cut down on the borked brain comments I see.
What a shame, you’ve contributed greatly to this conversation, you will be missed 🙏
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Fighting Satan and kage getting anal raped by Satan: I sleep
Kage making a joke about a fascist dictator pedophile convicted felon getting shot: real shit
God teir cringe
It closely echoes what I thought at the time. “Do not miss, or do not take the shot.” As Yoda said, “There is no try.”
One of the stupidest quotes in the history of quotes.
Agreed. I like it anyway.
To be honest. I think all famous people right now are preparing for the real possibility of a fascist dictatorship in america very soon.
They are trying to stay off of Trump’s assassination list. If they stay in the mode of “we condemn violence towards trump” then trumps ego doesn’t get hurt by them and they end up having a mysterious heart attack, drug overdose, or 3 in the back of the head “suicide”
from the party of “fuck your feelings”:
hOw DaRe YoU jOkE aBoUt ThAt!!!
“I wonder how Paul Pelosi is feeling.” Roaring laughter
Personally I was hoping for a heart attack. Did anyone think an assassination, successful or not, wouldn’t just lead to a complete shit-show?
a shit show yes, but maybe less of a shitshow than a second term as POTUS.
I was hoping the “excitement” of almost being killed would have lead to a heart attack, but who am I kidding? This is The Worst Timeline™ everything goes to shit and the absolute worst of us live forever and get everything they want…
This is The Worst Timeline™
Watch out, next time a bullet grazes him, he’ll get superpowers instead
Yeah, this guy (Trump) vahemently opposed the largest American protest in our history. The idealogy he opposed was simply “black lives matter”. He and his cronies vilified the entire movement by labeling the movement “Antifa”, and making it synonomus with terrorists looking to destroy America.
He gassed his way through the middle of protesters and the very clergy of a church he visited to hold a Bible upside down, and later re-tweet a video about a golfer yelling “white power”. These are fascist actions, and all while theoretically attacking “Antifa”.
And now we’re never supposed to even JOKE about him dying?
Fuck that, and fuck Trump.
Trump gets on mic everyday to wish death on some innocent groups of people but we’re fucking forbidden from joking about it towards him
So you want the freedom to be like Trump?
Personally I’d rather no one had the ability to wish violence on others without consequence. But I guess to each their own.
Kudos Kyle, for speaking the truth!
Oh Kyle, why did you say that? If you say your birthday wish out loud it won’t come true!
Today I learnt to respect Kyle Gass even more
My heart dropped at the headline. I was like fuck, here comes some conservative BS.
Nah man, he’s an idiot. Can’t believe he said that.
Everybody knows if you say your wish out loud it doesn’t come true!
No matter our politics, hopefully we can all agree with JB about not wanting to get shot by reactionary Christofascist radicals. I assume Black and Gass’s politics are pretty well aligned with each other, and Gass didn’t say anything a lot of people aren’t also feeling. But you can’t say that shit on stage in front of thousands of amped up fans. --not because it’s wrong to say or because it’s not politically correct or even because it’s controversial. You can’t say that shit because some of the people in the audience are unhinged and have already been radicalized by the Right.
Take a stand for the First Amendment, and take a stand against censorship, sure–but while you’re standing, be prepared to duck.
I don’t blame any public figure for not wanting to expose themselves to an outsized risk of violence. That risk is largely Trump’s fault, but notice how I’m blaming him from somewhere other than an elevated, well lit platform in front of a room full of strangers on drugs.
“don’t stand up for your rights, it might get you hurt” is a very weird take tbh
“don’t invoke violence in an emotionally charged environment with thousands of people, especially when it puts your friends and coworkers in the crossfire.”
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“Don’t take a stand against fascism, because a fascist might get angry” 🙄
And I guess if you’re part of a group already being targeted by angry fascists, it’d be something like “why didn’t you warn us about fascism sooner?”…
its one thing to willingly make yourself a target, but another to put your friends in the crossfire without their consent. Not just Jack but their crew, fans, venue staff, etc
I chose to believe he is being honest about why he cancelled the tour, and it wasn’t because “I agree with my buddy, and we’re going to stay out of the limelight for a short minute to stay safe”, but because “my buddy wants a fascist dead, and I can’t be seen to agree”.
I also find it fucking hilarious that people seriously think anyone is going to target this guy (or that he doesn’t already have/ can’t afford security), when there are significantly bigger targets out ther.
well firstly, you are the one who just said:
“Don’t take a stand against fascism, because a fascist might get angry” 🙄
that is what I was responding to.
but whatever, if I respond to your most recent comment you are copying and pasting everywhere, you’re being a bit naive if you think safety didn’t factor into the decision at all, or that any of these people couldn’t be targeted. There are whackos out there who could be targeting anyone for any reason and being on stage is a vulnerable place to be (see dimebag darrel, for example). And if something like that happens, it’s not just the target in danger, but everyone in the vicinity including the entire venue. People are likely to get trampled while fleeing, see just about any active shooter situation with hundreds or thousands of people crammed together.
I think standing up to fascism is different from putting yourself on a stage in front of potential cult members looking for retaliation. The guy is a comedian/actor/musician, he’s not looking to take a bullet from some unhinged wacko to somehow prove … fascism bad?
How many here talking shit are planning to do a soapbox tour of the US calling for Trump’s death? Just putting yourself out in front of a crowd of potentially unhinged folks, unarmed, to try and prove some kind of point.
I chose to believe he is being honest about why he cancelled the tour, and it wasn’t because “I agree with my buddy, and we’re going to stay out of the limelight for a short minute to stay safe”, but because “my buddy wants a fascist dead, and I can’t be seen to agree”.
I also find it fucking hilarious that people seriously think anyone is going to target this guy (or that he doesn’t already have/ can’t afford security), when there are significantly bigger targets out ther.
Nutjobs have shot of grocery stores and movie theaters that had no real “targets” other than people to shoot. Now mark yourself as “the enemy” of a cult by just using your first amendment right, and one could follow to a logical conclusion that maybe you would be putting your putting yourself and your whole road crew at risk.
You also have to stop thinking about these people as logical. Nothing they do has logic involved. They are members of a cult, logic was checked at the door long ago. As for being a target, these guys are famous, and people talk shit and threaten stars for far less then wishing death upon the cult leader.
I think it’s more like “don’t publicly stand for political violence towards fascists because their base is unhinged and you bring the violence on yourself”. Also, the violence has given the fascists power. Right now, the dems defense has to be damage control. I know many people wish Trump had been taken out (especially by another republican) but it didn’t happen, most likely won’t now, and dems need to put on a “we don’t condone violence” face so they can maybe try to win.
I think it’s more like “don’t publicly stand for political violence towards fascists because their base is unhinged and you bring the violence on yourself”.
So as long as they’re bringing violence to everyone but you, it’s all good then… 🙄
Also, the violence has given the fascists power.
News flash - they had it long before this joke happened
Right now, the dems defense has to be damage control. I know many people wish Trump had been taken out (especially by another republican) but it didn’t happen, most likely won’t now, and dems need to put on a “we don’t condone violence” face so they can maybe try to win.
Laugh my mother fucking ass off.
The fact that you, anyone, still put faith in the democrats to stand up, never mind defeat, fascism, especially after the pathetic display of the last few days where they’ve all literally grovelled to the fascist in chief, is as depressing as it is astounding. And it doesn’t end well.
Okay, then what’s the answer? Because I’m afraid, unless we get some nation-wide support, no one is going to vote 3rd party (and there are no truly leftist candidates anyway). Even if we were to get the support, there’s no guarantee that we have enough or that those who said they would vote 3rd party really will. And even then, we won’t get all the dems on board anyway, which will split the vote. You’re against fascism, but the unfortunate thing is that the dems are the only shot unless you’ve got a revolution or a really game-changing candidate up your sleeve. The problem is, it’s crunch time and we have few options. I’m mad about it too and I agree with you on most points, but what else can we really do?
Edit: Please don’t just downvote. I am serious when asking for the answer. If I can have a viable option, I will take it.
Nah, Xhieron has a point. You don’t want to piss off a radicalized group of gun-toting rednecks. All it takes is one extremist right-wing nutjob and a loaded firearm to end your life.
I mean a 20 year old incel came within inches of killing Trump at a rally, and unlike Donald, Tenacious D and their crew do not have the luxury of secret service protection.
I chose to believe he is being honest about why he cancelled the tour, and it wasn’t because “I agree with my buddy, and we’re going to stay out of the limelight for a short minute to stay safe”, but because “my buddy wants a fascist dead, and I can’t be seen to agree”.
I also find it fucking hilarious that people seriously think anyone is going to target this guy (or that he doesn’t already have/ can’t afford security), when there are significantly bigger targets out ther.
When your masters use violence to oppress you, the only justified action is violence against them in a pursuit of freedom.
As somebody with experience being on tour and playing shows every night and having a mic in front of you. Maybe a little toasted on stage as well. You tend to say things that you normally wouldn’t. High energy, adrenaline, trying to keep the crowd entertained and think on your toes. You can say things right as they come to you without full consideration.
My guess is, that this will be the outcome of all of this. An apology along the lines of what you just mentioned, and a “back to reality call”. At least I hope so
He already apologized and said he was wrong to say it.
KG should not have apologized.
Apologies are designed for human beings and entities capable of experiencing empathy. Conservatives are not able to process the concept of an apology. They are just as unable to recognize apologies as they are unable to issue them.
I don’t think he’s apologizing for the conservatives.
That sounds like the wisest approach to this.
Wrong to say it publicly, but not wrong to think it.
Yeah, maybe Jack Black will come to his senses.
He probably doesn’t want to get shot.
Jack Black looks weirder every time I see him.
Y’all burying the lead here: Kyle blew on a birthday cake and made a wish but he spoke it out loud! Now it’ll never come true. :(
Damnit, Kyle - you had one job!
*lede
Sorry
TIL, huh.
Lede feels like it only exists for that expression, unless you’re in journalism. The biggest irony is it’s actually a 1950s alteration of lead, but the expression came out of journalism so here we are.
Jack is a Coward. I stand with Kyle. Remember, whenever someone calls for violence, that the head of project 25 said "We are in the midst of a second American revolution., which will remain bloodless, should the left choose it to be."
Don’t think for a second Trump is against it.
Hey Jack, I love you. But eat a fucking dick, coward.
Honestly this just makes me sad.
I thought better of JB. This is a far cry from a call for political violence.
This is like saying “come on, guys, Hitler is a person too and we shouldn’t be wishing bad things on them” in the 1930s.
I can’t imagine being so spineless I’d throw my friend under the bus over a comment that, honestly as far as I’m concerned doesn’t go far enough.
money > convictions
spineless response by him in my opinion.
money > convictions
It would make him money to continue the tour, not to cancel it
nah, he’s virtue signalling
It doesn’t seem you understand what virtue signaling means
help me out then buddy, because what he’s doing is “expressing a moral viewpoint to communicate good character”, which is the EXACT DEFINITION.
Virtue signaling is telling people you’re a great guy. When you demonstrate it with actions it’s just called being virtuous.
jesus christ, do i have to do everything for you? he’a acting like a great guy and saying “political violence is bayud” but we’ve put up with trumps shit for years and he obviously doesn’t feel that way, clearly his bandmate doesn’t and isn’t afraid to say it, but jack’s playing PC to appease everyone and look holier than thou.
He swims in money. And their financial success would continue regardless.
maybe, maybe not. might get canceled.
That sucks, I hadn’t had the chance to see them before, but I got tickets for a show they’re having near me in a few months. I guess I need to see what getting a refund looks like.
I mean to be honest half the world is probably saying the same thing.
The last thing we need is this piece of shit to become a martyr. Let him go down beaten by a black woman at the polls, like the loser he is.
At this point Trump being shot is the best thing that could happen to the Republican party. And I wish them only the worst.
Half of America is wishing it too, even if not vocalized.
The problem being the other half isn’t.
I assume Jack and his team probably started recieving threats from the crowd that shot at Trump (republicans).
I guess attempting to kill and joking about killing Trump is a privilege that only republicans enjoy
TBH I don’t give a single solitary fuck who Republicans think or don’t think is allowed to do anything. That doesn’t mean Jack Black has to risk his life over some ha has.
This barely would be known if it wasn’t for them splitting up over about it though. They said it to an Australian crowd. They ain’t doing anything about it.
There have been no statements about the band ending, but they have almost certainly ended the Australian Tour, sadly. Gass has also been dropped by Greene Talent agency, so he might have to work to regain trust from the business suits if they want to do big events again. Both Gass and Black have both been apologetic and on the same page with their public statements.
They once wrote and performed a song about killing politicians and ruling as idiot kings, they’ll be fine.
Ahh, think I misinterpreted Black’s “all future creative plans are on hold” statement. Forgetting the “on hold” part.
Only America’s allies
Damn. It’s gotta be stressful as a public figure toeing the line between basic decency and a desire to not get investigated by the S(ecret) S(ervice). Can’t say I blame him for wanting to distance himself from that type of commentary
It’s a worthy wish.
