Tenacious D’s Kyle Gass is reflecting on the backlash he got for joking about the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in July 2024 — and how it strained his relationship with bandmate Jack Black.
“It was terrible. It was terrible judgment, obviously,” Gass, 65, told Rolling Stone in a wide-ranging interview about the scandal published Wednesday. “I’ve felt terrible ever since, because it’s such a responsibility to not screw up like that.”
During Tenacious D’s July 2024 concert in Australia, Black, 54, presented Gass with a birthday cake onstage and asked him to “make a wish.”
Gass quipped, “Don’t miss Trump next time,” just weeks after a gunman opened fire on Trump, 79, during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Gass released an apology for his comment while Black condemned the controversial remark. Due to the backlash, Tenacious D canceled their subsequent tour dates and went on an extended break.
“I wouldn’t wish it on anybody,” Gass told Rolling Stone about the backlash he received. “It’s one of those things, once it was picked up, it just got worse and worse. It was a Defcon 2 for sure in the camp. And I did it. It was hard to take responsibility for it, but it was my f–k-up.”
“When you’re in it, it’s hard to even think straight,” the musician continued. “It’s just this thing flooding and coming at you. We had to take the break. And I got it. Jack has this magnificent career; I can’t even count the franchises now. So as hard as it was, I just had to take the long ride home.”
Gass said that he knew the next day that he had to issue an apology.
“Like, OK, people are really disturbed and hurt by this, I have to apologize,” he explained. “It was hard to think straight, but I had some time to craft it. I did it myself. I ran it by the manager, and it seemed like I got what I wanted to say. And then that became a story.”
The rocker revealed that Black didn’t give him a heads up that the would be sharing his own statement about the controversy.
When asked if he felt that the “School of Rock” actor was “hanging him out to dry” with his statement, Gass responded, “No, not really. I might have deserved it. Or, he had to protect himself from his loose-cannon partner over here.”
“I totally understood once safety concerns got in,” Gass went on. “I might have tried to finish the tour, and I think sometimes these things can blow over, but at the time, it’s hard when the tsunami of s–t is coming at you.”
After the controversy, the bandmates “hashed it out,” Gass said, describing the conversation as “hard.”
“It is like a marriage,” he shared. “You go through these ups and downs, and try to understand your partner.”
Gass also recognized that Black’s star power has helped make Tenacious D successful.
“I’m a fan of Jack. It’s been great to see him ascend from when we were just a couple of schmoes in Hollywood,” Gass said. “He’s the engine behind the D, too. You can’t really separate that. I don’t begrudge him at all, and I’m just happy to be there. My glass is seven-eighths full, and it’s allowed me to live my best life. I was a delivery driver and a security [guard].”
Gass continued, “It was hard at first, though. When the D started to take off, it was really a dream come true. And then people were like, ‘Oh that must be really hard for you because Jack’s so famous!’ Well, not really. It’s cool. And then it’s good for the goose, good for the gander. Part of the reason why the D’s been so great is because of Jack and his popularity.”
As for the group’s future in the wake of scandal, Gass promised, “We will serve no D-wine before it’s D-time — but we will be back. We will return.”
