In today’s headlines with Chereè Kinnear, David Seymour outlines expectations for Pharmac, new speed-camera signage and Tenacious D world tour gets halted.
The controversy occurred when musician Kyle Gass was presented with a birthday cake on stage in Sydney on Sunday. When asked to make a wish, he said: “don’t miss Trump next time”, hours after a bullet clipped the former President’s ear during the shooting at his Pennsylvania rally.
The backlash had led to the group postponing its Tuesday show in Newcastle, New South Wales, and prompted a prominent Australian senator to call for the duo to be deported.
JUST IN: Jack Black has *CANCELED* the rest of his tour.
Tenacious D made the announcement after Jack Black's bandmate Kyle Gass made the remark: "Don't miss Trump next time." pic.twitter.com/v8epD21XME
Some fans were reportedly already queuing at the venue when a message from the tour promoters announced the concert had been postponed and that further information would be provided when available.
Black later called time on the Spicy Meatball Tour entirely, saying he was “blindsided” by his bandmate’s comment.
“I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form,” he wrote.
“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.”
Kyle Gass (left) and Jack Black of Tenacious D. Photo / Getty Images
The band had been due to perform at several other Australian venues before moving on to New Zealand. It was also supposed to resume in October in the US, with dates set in Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania.
After a video of the Sydney event went viral on TikTok and X, Ralph Babet, an Australian senator from the United Australia Party, demanded the band be deported.
“I call on the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to join me in denouncing Tenacious D, Jack Black, and band member Kyle Gass, and I call on the Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to revoke their visas and deport them immediately,” he said in a statement.
“Anything less than a deportation is an endorsement of the shooting and the attempted assassination of Donald J. Trump.”
In a statement on Instagram, released at the same time as Black’s, Gass said that his “improvised” line on stage had been “highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake”, adding that he did not condone violence of any kind against anyone.
“What happened was a tragedy, and I’m incredibly sorry for my severe lack of judgment. I profoundly apologise to those I’ve let down and truly regret any pain I’ve caused.”
New Zealand cancellation:
Frontier Touring confirmed to the Herald this morning that all tickets purchased for the band’s New Zealand shows will receive a full refund.
“No action is required. Your refund will be processed to the original method of payment used at time of purchase. It should appear on your account within 14-21 days. If the tickets were transferred to you, the refund will go to the fan who originally purchased the tickets from Ticketmaster,” an email to ticket holders read.
Tenacious D were scheduled to perform at Wellington’s TSB Arena on July 24 and Auckland’s Spark Arena on July 26.
In an earlier version of this story, the Herald incorrectly stated that promoter Live Nation had confirmed the cancellation - the promoter is in fact Frontier Touring and the story has since been updated.
