The Real Reason Jack Black Canceled Tenacious D Tour After Trump Joke

The entirety of Tenacious D, Jack Black And Kyle Gass the drama feels a bit like a fever dream, to be honest. Like, what do you mean a group of comedians made an (unoriginal) assassination joke about Donald Trump whose deportation an Australian politician has called for?

And then this comedy group — which literally has a song, “City Hall,” about killing politicians and having two kings rule who will legalize weed — canceled its tour, with both members denouncing political violence in separate statements.

Black announced on Instagram that all of the band’s “future creative plans” are now on hold, and everyone is wondering what’s going on.

According to the Daily Mail, Black’s decision is about money and his long career in Hollywood.

“Jack is not looking to be canceled and by ending the tour and getting away from all this and the Kyle joke, he hopes people will quickly forget about him,” a source said.

“There are so many important films that Jack is attached to right now, and to derail all of that would be career suicide. We’ll see Tenacious D again, but it could be years away.”

Jack Black and Kyle Gass’s band Tenacious D has been around for 30 years. (Image: Getty)

Black has three Hollywood films set to be released in the next few years. There are still one more to come out this year. Eli Roth‘s Borderswhich also features Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Edgar Ramirez, Ariana GreenblattAnd Jamie Lee Curtis.

In 2025, he plays a leading role in the video game adaptation Minecraft next to Jason Momoawith a star-studded cast including Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon And Jemaine Clement.

He also has a Christmas comedy called Dear Santa in progress with Keegan-Michael Keywhere a young child accidentally sends his wish list to Satan instead of Santa Claus.

What does Kyle Gass think about the whole Tenacious D vs. Jack Black controversy?

The source also told the Daily Mail that Gass was concerned about his long friendship with Black. The two met in 1986 and formed their band Tenacious D in 1994.

“Kyle obviously never meant for it to get to this point. He feels really bad about the aftermath,” the source said.

“He thought it was a random line at a show, but it came to life and he accepts his current fate. He just hopes people forgive him and it doesn’t impact his friendship with Jack.”

The original joke took place on stage in Sydney, Australia, after Black asked Gass for a birthday wish. Without hesitation, Kyle replied, “Don’t miss Trump next time.”

After people online attacked Gass with their *imaginary* pitchforks, he shared a statement on Instagram.

“The line I improvised on stage Sunday night in Sydney was highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake. I do not condone violence of any kind against anyone. What happened was a tragedy and I am extremely sorry for my serious lapse in judgment. I sincerely apologize to those I have let down and truly regret any pain I have caused,” Gass wrote.

One of the main theories circulating on X (formerly Twitter) is that Tenacious D will take a break until the controversy is a distant memory, and then eventually reform. Fingers crossed!

Main image: Getty