Tenacious D have postponed their gig in Newcastle, Australia, just a few days after causing uproar for making a joke about Donald Trump’s assassination attempt.
Australian senator Ralph Babet demanded the government deport the rock duo – fronted by actor Jack Black – after member Kyle Gass made a birthday wish on stage in Sydney on Sunday.
Gass was presented with a birthday cake and was told to ‘make a wish’ as he blew out candles, and he responded: ‘Don’t miss Trump next time.’
By this, he is referring to the moment Donald Trump was targeted while speaking at a rally by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who climbed up a building and shot the former President, 78, in the ear on July 14 in an attempted assassination.
Following the jibe, just hours before Tenacious D were set to take to the stage in Newcastle, Frontier Touring announced their gig was being postponed.
‘Frontier Touring regret to advise that Tenacious D’s concert tonight at Newcastle Entertainment Centre has been postponed,’ they said.
‘Ticket holders are asked to hold onto their tickets until further information is available.’
The rock band are scheduled to perform in Brisbane on July 18, Melbourne on July 20, and Adelaide on July 22, before flying to New Zealand.
Babet, the United Australia party senator, released a statement on Tuesday calling for Tenacious D to be deported from Australia.
He said: ‘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.’
Black, who has starred in films including The Holiday and School of Rock, has previously voiced criticism of Trump.
In his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2018, he ended his speech by saying: ‘I love you all so much, except for Donald Trump’s a piece of shit. Peace out, love you.’
The pair also campaigned in the 2020 election to get people out voting,
The comedy rock duo’s last album, Post Apocalypto, was released in 2018, and they are responsible for hits including Tribute, Master Exploder, Classico, and Wonderboy.
Meanwhile, Jack’s been making a name for himself in the YouTube world, uploading videos to his gaming channel Jablinksi Games.
The Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said there was ‘no place for violence in democratic process’ after the assassination attempt.
He said: ‘Let us be clear, the people at this event, the candidate, the crowd, the free press covering it, were all participating in the democratic process.
‘In Australia, as in the United States, the essence and the purpose of our democracies is that we can express our views, debate our disagreements, and resolve our differences peacefully.
‘We do so with respect for each other and in the spirit of a shared love of our country. Any act of violence is an affront to that and must be condemned unequivocally.
‘This was an inexcusable attack on the democratic values that Australians and Americans share and the freedom that we treasure.
‘These values are ones that unite our two countries. It’s the basis of our alliance is those shared values between our peoples as great democratic nations.
‘And all Australians stand with our friends in the United States at this difficult time.’
Metro.co.uk has reached out to Tenacious D representatives for comment.