Tenacious D’s Kyle Gass sparked controversy back in July 2024 after commenting on the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump during a concert in Australia. A year-and-a-half later, Gass is speaking out about the moment that caused his duo with Jack Black to cancel subsequent tour dates and go on an extended break, stating that it was “terrible judgment” to joke about the incident and that he was “naive” that the backlash would be so strong.
“It was terrible. It was terrible judgment, obviously,” he told Rolling Stone while promoting his group Kyle Gass Band’s upcoming live album.
Gass candidly reflected on the incident, which happened a day after Trump’s assassination attempt during a show in Sydney on his birthday. While Gass was blowing out candles on a cake mid-concert, Black told him to make a wish, to which Gass responded, “Don’t miss Trump next time,” eliciting waves of criticism from right-wing media and prompting Tenacious D to cancel their tour.
Gass subsequently issued an apology that called his joke “highly inappropriate, dangerous, and a terrible mistake,” while Black distanced himself from Gass and said, “I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form.”
Speaking for the first time about the reaction to his comment, Gass says that he’s “felt terrible ever since, because it’s such a responsibility to not screw up like that.” He recalls that he didn’t think much of what he’d said until later that night when it became a worldwide story.
“I wouldn’t wish it on anybody,” he said. “It’s one of those things, once it was picked up, it just got worse and worse. It was a Defcon 2 for sure in the camp. And I did it. It was hard to take responsibility for it, but it was my fuck-up. When you’re in it, it’s hard to even think straight. It’s just this thing flooding and coming at you. We had to take the break. And I got it. Jack has this magnificent career; I can’t even count the franchises now. So as hard as it was, I just had to take the long ride home.”
Now, Gass explained that he and Black have “hashed it out” and “it was hard.” “It’s like a marriage. You go through these ups and downs, and try to understand your partner.” And while Tenacious D has been relatively silent since the incident, save for a song included on a charity record last year, Gass promised that the group would come back together. “We will serve no D-wine before it’s D-time — but we will be back. We will return.”
