Tenacious D’s Newcastle gig ‘postponed’ after Jack Black bandmate makes controversial joke about Donald Trump shooting… while Australian senator calls for band to be DEPORTED

Tenacious D’s final Australian concert has been “postponed” at the last minute after Jack Black’s bandmate Kyle Gass made a controversial comment about Donald Trump.

Gass sparked controversy on Sunday night when he made a joke on stage in Sydney about the attempted assassination of the former US president.

During their show, Black brought out a birthday cake for Gass and asked him to make a wish, prompting him to respond, “Don’t miss Trump next time.”

His comment comes hours after the attempted assassination of Trump at a rally in Milwaukee, Pennsylvania, in a shooting that pierced Trump’s right ear and killed a spectator.

Tenacious D’s show in Newcastle on Tuesday night was cancelled with just hours’ notice, although Black was spotted in the New South Wales city earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, Australian politician Ralph Babet, a staunch Trump supporter, has called for the American rock duo to be expelled from the country over Gass’s comments.

Frontier Touring took to Instagram on Tuesday to confirm that Tenacious D’s Newcastle show would not be happening, just three hours before the doors were set to open.

The concert promoter gave no reason behind the last-minute cancellation, but urged fans to hold on to their tickets and wait for “further information.”

They wrote in a statement: “Frontier Touring regrets to announce that tonight’s Tenacious D concert at Newcastle Entertainment Centre has been postponed.

“Ticket holders are advised to hold on to their tickets until further information becomes available.”

Confirming the cancellation of all remaining shows in Australia, Jack Black said in a statement: “I was taken aback by what was said at Sunday’s show. I will never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form.”

“After careful consideration, I no longer feel it is appropriate to continue the Tenacious D tour, and all future creative projects are on hold. I am grateful to the fans for their support and understanding.”

Fans were quick to share their anger at the last-minute cancellation in the comments, with some claiming they were already queuing outside the Newcastle Entertainment Centre.

One wrote: “Whyy …

A third fumed: “Are you kidding me? We drove for hours, argued with our host and cancelled a few hours in advance.”

A fourth said: “WTF I hope the rest of the Australian tour doesn’t get cancelled,” and a fifth raged: “Absolute bullshit!!!”

Fans are also wondering if Tenacious D’s Spicy Meatball tour in Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide in the coming days will still happen.

Black was spotted in Newcastle buying a $600 Seiko watch from local boutique Thomas’ Timepieces earlier on Monday, while other fans told how they took selfies with the Hollywood star in the city.

Meanwhile, Australian Senator Babet has called for Black and Gass to be expelled from the country following the joke.

Babet, who is a conservative member of the United Australia Party, condemned Gass’s comments as “diabolical”.

Babet has previously spoken out in support of Trump, calling the comment “blatant, disgusting, filthy, evil and unacceptable in any way.”

He described Trump as the “soon to be 47th president,” despite the fact that Trump is still running against President Joe Biden ahead of the November 2024 election.

“Tenacious D should be immediately deported from the country after wishing for the assassination of Donald Trump during their concert in Sydney,” Babet said in a statement.

“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the call for political violence made by Tenacious D in Sydney on Sunday.

“Advocating or wishing for the assassination of a president is blatant, disgusting, filthy, evil and unacceptable in any form.

“It was not a joke, he was dead serious when he wished the president dead.”

Babet called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to support his call for the group’s expulsion as he continued his strongly worded statement.

He added: “I call on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to join me in denouncing Tenacious D, Jack Black and band member Kyle Gass, and I call on Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to revoke their visas and deport them immediately.

“Any action short of expulsion would be an endorsement of the shooting and attempted assassination of Donald J. Trump, the 45th and soon to be 47th President of the United States.

“Allowing Tenacious D to remain in Australia after calling for the death of a president is unthinkable and confirms the weakness of our current Prime Minister.”

Babet changed his cover photo on X to a photograph of Trump bleeding after the rally shooting, despite previously writing a letter of support for the former US president ahead of the 2024 election.

After Gass’ joke at Tenacious D’s concert on Sunday, the crowd responded mostly with cheers and laughter, with only a few disappointed reactions.

This has since sparked conflicting reactions online, with Kyle Sandilands banning Tenacious D from his Lifetime radio show in light of the comment.

Speaking on the Kyle & Jackie O show on Tuesday, radio host Sandilands said: “So this guy wants Trump dead.”

“A word to our talent scouts: I will not be participating in any future interviews with Tenacious D,” he continued.

“Anyone who wishes death on someone who was almost murdered, joking aside, is too much for me. Anyone who wishes death on someone else is just a piece of sh**.”

Black and Gass are currently in Australia for their Spicy Meatball Tour, which began in May and is scheduled to end on July 26, 2024.

Black has been vocal about his anti-Trump stance, delivering a speech at a star-studded fundraiser in Los Angeles for President Joe Biden in November, where he said “democracy is at stake.”

The event, which raised more than $30 million, featured former President Barack Obama, George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Barbra Streisand.

Black has joked in the past that Trump, like his group, thinks he is “the best” in the world, Yahoo! News reported.

In 2017, he told Conan O’Brien: “Now, when we play Tenacious D, I always get a little pang in my heart, because it’s like this evil fucking wizard stole our magic, but just took all the irony out of it. And it worked, and now he’s destroying the universe.”

Saturday’s shooting, which killed a bystander and wounded Trump, is being investigated by the FBI as a potential act of domestic terrorism.

Trump said on social media that the upper part of his right ear was pierced in the shooting, while two bystanders were seriously injured and former fire chief Corey Comperatore was killed.

Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was identified as the shooter by the FBI after the incident at the rally.

The gunman was killed after firing from an “elevated position” outside the outdoor rally venue, the Secret Service said.

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