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Tenacious D musician Kyle Gass has deleted an Instagram post in which he apologized for a controversial joke about an assassination attempt on President Donald Trump.
Gus, who is one half of the comedy rock band with actor Jack Black, was referencing last weekend’s shooting in Pennsylvania of former President Trump. The incident appeared to cause a rift between the two band members, with Black publicly denounced Gus’ joke.
“Make a wish,” Black can be heard telling Gus in a video shared on TikTok from the concert in Sydney, Australia. After Gus blew out the candles, he joked, “Just make sure you don’t miss Trump next time.”
In a statement released on Tuesday (July 16), Black said he was “stunned by what was said on Sunday’s show,” adding that he “never condones hate speech or encourages political violence in any form.”
“After much consideration, I no longer feel it is appropriate for me to continue touring with Tenacious D and all future creative plans have been put on hold,” Black continued. “I thank our fans for their support and understanding.”
Gass initially posted an apology on Instagram, writing, “I do not condone violence of any kind or form towards anyone. What happened is tragic and I deeply regret my lack of judgment. I am deeply sorry to those I let down and I truly regret any pain I have caused.”
However, the 64-year-old singer and actor has removed the apology from his social media pages.
Trump was shot by a man later identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks while speaking at a political rally.
The former president was shot dead after hitting Trump in the ear in an attempt to kill him. Trump escaped with minor injuries, but one person was killed and two others were injured.
Former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd was among those to criticise Gass’ comments, telling news.com.au: “I find it disgusting that someone would joke about violence. It’s physically wrong. You might think it’s a bit ‘funny’ to blurt something like that out at a concert.”
“No. This is not the case. This is a threat to human life and an attempted assassination of the former and future presidents of the United States, depending on the vote of the American people. This is an incident in which innocent civilians were killed and two were seriously injured.”
