Kyle Gass knew things had gone terribly wrong when reports started flooding his hotel room in Sydney.
Just hours earlier, he’d cracked a joke onstage about the Trump assassination attempt during his 64th birthday celebration with Tenacious D.
What followed became an international firestorm that would cancel tours, cost him his agent, and put one of comedy rock’s most beloved partnerships on indefinite hold.
Now, breaking his silence for the first time since July 2024, Gass opens up about that fateful night, the brutal aftermath, and what’s next for Tenacious D.
The Birthday Joke That Changed Everything
July 14, 2024 started as what Gass describes as a “pretty magical” day. Performing at ICC Sydney Theatre for the second show of their Australian tour, Gass had already flown over Sydney in a friend’s helicopter and arrived to find his dressing room decorated.
He was aware of the shooting at Trump’s Pennsylvania rally, where a gunman injured the then-candidate and killed one attendee. But being halfway across the world created distance from reality.
I didn’t feel like I was in touch with it. If I was over there, I think I would have gotten more the gravity of an assassination attempt.
During the concert, Jack Black led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday” while their friend Mike Bray, dressed in a metal robot costume, held out a cake. When Black told Gass to make a wish, Gass quipped: “Don’t miss Trump next time.”
The line got laughs. The show continued. But back in his hotel room during post-show celebrations, panic set in as Gass watched his improvised one-liner explode across social media.
When The Tsunami Hit
Right-wing media figures erupted. Elon Musk called the comments “contemptible.” Charlie Kirk tweeted about people being “more twisted and vile than we realized.” An Australian politician demanded deportation.
Gass describes the experience as overwhelming.
It’s like a tsunami of shit rolling over you. And then there’s the regret. Like, ‘Why would I do that?’ I just didn’t put it together. And the ramifications were so huge.
Within days, his agent dropped him. Tours were canceled. Safety concerns mounted, with someone even calling his 95-year-old mother.
Looking back, Gass acknowledges the severity of his mistake with characteristic self-awareness.
I’m human, I made a mistake. I was going for a joke. But timing is everything. If there was ever a ‘too soon,’ it was this.
The Long Flight Home
Gass had to endure a 14-hour flight from Sydney to Los Angeles while processing what he’d done and watching the controversy intensify in real-time.
It’s an arduous flight, and then having to sit in your thoughts of, ‘What have I done?’ It was a very low moment for me.
He issued an apology the next day, calling the joke “highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake.” Though he later deleted it from Instagram, he insists he still stands by those words—the deletion was simply because it felt like “a dead fish just laying there” after being shared everywhere.
Jack Black’s Response And Their Friendship
Black released his own statement saying he was “blindsided” and putting all future Tenacious D plans on hold. Some fans criticized Black for seemingly abandoning his longtime partner.
But Gass holds no resentment.
He was doing what he felt he had to do. We’re separate people, always, and we’re on different career paths. I totally understood what he needed to protect. I didn’t begrudge him any of that.
Gass emphasizes they were in separate camps during the crisis, with Black’s team handling his response while Gass figured out his own path forward. They didn’t coordinate statements, though they discussed options like taking one show off or having Gass apologize onstage.
Safety concerns ultimately made those options impossible.
The Fame Dynamic
The controversy highlighted something fans have long noticed: the fame disparity between Black and Gass. But Gass refuses to see himself as a victim of this dynamic.
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. He’s the engine behind the D, too. 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.
He admits it was challenging at first when people would ask if Jack’s fame bothered him. But he’s made peace with their different trajectories, recognizing that Black’s popularity benefits Tenacious D as a whole.
Moving Forward
After laying low for months, Gass returned to social media days after Trump’s re-election—pointedly covering the Bee Gees’ “I Started a Joke.” By December, he was performing with the Kyle Gass Band again.
His other projects have kept him busy:
- Kyle Gass Company toured Europe last spring
- New live album recorded at a California brewery, releasing January 23rd
- Solo single “What Do I Know” dropped in December
As for Tenacious D? Gass and Black have talked things through and remain friends after decades together.
We’re gonna come back — it’s gonna be bigger than Oasis!
He laughs after saying it, adding that playing up the comeback feels “a little disingenuous.” But technically, they’ve already returned—contributing an REO Speedwagon cover to a 2025 charity record.
Lessons From The Stove
Reflecting on everything, Gass maintains his sense of humor while taking full responsibility. He refers to the incident as touching the stove, acknowledging he was naive about how quickly things spread in today’s media environment.
Five one-syllable words that brought down the empire.
Despite the ordeal—the lost agent, canceled tours, media harassment, and safety concerns—Gass recognizes how his mistake affected more than just himself. He feels responsibility toward the crew members whose livelihoods depend on Tenacious D tours.
The incident serves as a stark reminder of how quickly context collapses in the age of viral media. What felt like a private moment among friends and fans in Sydney became international news within hours.
But Gass and Black’s friendship has survived worse than one ill-timed joke. After knowing each other since Black was 18, they’ve weathered the ups and downs of what Gass calls their “long marriage.”
And when Tenacious D does return, fans can expect the same chemistry that made them beloved in the first place—just with perhaps a bit more caution about birthday wishes.