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Jack Black’s Tenacious D partner Kyle Gass is facing criticism after making a joke about the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump just hours after the incident.
The comedy-rock duo were performing at Australia’s ICC Sydney Theatre on Saturday (July 13) after the former president was shot in the ear during a rally in Pennsylvania earlier that day.
To celebrate Gass’ 64th birthday on Sunday (July 14), Black, 54, presented Gass with a cake onstage.
“Make a wish,” the School of Rock star can be heard telling Gus in the video shared on TikTok.
As Gus blew out the candles, he said: “Next time, don’t miss Trump.”
“There were a few ‘oohs’ – a little too early I think – but mostly laughter,” one audience member told Yahoo News.
Many users on social media slammed Gass’ joke as being in poor taste.
“Encouraging the murder of politicians is really awful,” one person wrote on TikTok.
“I feel so sorry for such a disappointing and disrespectful attitude towards someone’s life and family,” another said. “What would it have been like if your family had been shot?”
“Not funny,” a third said.
“A father died trying to protect his daughter and others were injured. These people are awful,” another person wrote to X.
The former president was shot and killed by 20-year-old suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks while speaking at a political rally over the weekend.
Crooks, a Republican, fired eight shots, killing one person and wounding at least two others in the crowd before being shot dead by a sniper.
The shooter’s motive remains unknown, but the FBI is currently conducting a comprehensive investigation into the shooting as a possible act of domestic terrorism.
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“I should be dead,” Trump told the New York Post in his first interview since the incident.
“The doctors at the hospital said they’d never seen anything like this, it was a miracle,” he said. “I wasn’t supposed to be here, I was supposed to be dead. I was supposed to be dead.”
Later that night, country singer Jason Aldean dedicated his controversial 2023 hit “Try That in a Small Town” to his “friend” Trump.
“It just goes to show that there’s a lot of bullshit out there, and this song is really about that, so I dedicate this song to the president,” Aldean told the crowd.
