Jack Black has said he’s cancelled the rest of the Tenacious D world tour after his bandmate Kyle Gass sparked an outcry with a comment about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
The comedy rock group were on stage in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday when Gass was asked to make a wish after being presented with a cake for his 64th birthday.
He appeared to reply: “Don’t miss Trump next time.”
Gass also split with his agent following the incident.
What makes you think the outage is fake? If he doesn’t believe in political violence (doesn’t seem like that should be a controversial opinion even if you disagree), or at least believes in separating his private thoughts from his stage personality, I imagine the outrage is completely real. I’d imagine he very much did not want Kyle to implicate him by saying it in a very public venue with Jack on stage, even if he privately agrees.
I don’t know who he is in private but his public face is very much, “it’s all about the music, man!” and being innocuous. Being divisive can only hurt his popularity, and very much his bottom line as he and anyone thinking of casting him have to worry about boycotts and review bombs, to say nothing of targeted political violence against him and his fans.
Also, yes Trump and his followers espouse political violence. Do we want to normalize that? Really? That’s a scary thought to me because I don’t know how we put that genie back in the bottle. Right now it remains outrageous when the right does it, but if the left does as well then we can’t condemn it without hypocrisy. It’s just the new normal - we kill each other when we can’t get what we want through other means.
That thought very much frightens me because I don’t know how we all walk away from the precipice. I get Jack’s perspective and I’d be outraged about being put in the position of seeming to endorse that as well.
I guess bring on the downvotes if you must. I’ve got nothing to lose by speaking my mind.
Have fun not fighting back against fascists because defending against violence with violence would be “sinking ot their level”.
Read the “paradox of intolerance” if you have not, and wonder after you do who and for what purpose the ‘citizens should never ever resort to violence’ idea serves best. I upvoted you because i like when people speak their minds knowing they’ll be unpopular. I do disagree with you, but ive come to my new belief recently and don’t look down on those i feel are walking on the same path i walked
I’m aware of it. And I agree with it. It’s nuanced and hard to really get into without writing a book here. I hate Trump and I can’t even say I haven’t considered how much safer I’d feel if he died. That I haven’t at times impatiently wondered when the backlash against stochastic terrorism would inevitably rise up and answer violence with violence.
Hell if the assassin had gotten him, I think a lot more people would condemn the act from the safety of a post Trump world. But such things threaten to spill into open violence. And who can de-escalate if both sides are doing it? And without de-escalation, what is the end of violence? A horrific outcome no matter which side wins.
If we won, if we murdered and assassinated every white suprematist, every anti-abortionist, every homophobe and transphobe, every billionaire, who would we even be? And when would we stop?
I could go on at great length, but I’ll stop here. I appreciate respectful disagreement. I’m not anyone’s enemy here. I value the discussion and opinions I don’t share. I might not have spoken up but I didn’t see anyone else saying the things I felt needed to be said.
Anyway, salute brother (or however you identify). May we all come out on the other side of this thing together.
