Kyle Gass Says He ‘Felt Terrible’ After Joke That Halted Tenacious D

Kyle Gass is speaking openly about the joke that derailed Tenacious D’s future — and the regret that’s followed ever since.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Gass reflected on the fallout from a remark he made onstage in 2024, just days after an assassination attempt on Donald Trump. During a Tenacious D show, Gass joked that he wished the shooter “wouldn’t miss Trump next time,” a comment he now says he never imagined would spread beyond the room.

“I’m human, I made a mistake,” Gass said. “I was going for a joke. But timing is everything. If there was ever a ‘too soon,’ it was this.”

At the time, Trump had been shot at during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. The bullet grazed Trump’s ear, but one attendee was killed and two others were injured — a reality that made Gass’ joke land with far greater weight than he intended.

The backlash was swift. Within days, Tenacious D canceled the rest of its tour, and Gass issued a public apology. Bandmate Jack Black also released a statement distancing himself from the comment, saying he did not condone hate speech or political violence and putting all future Tenacious D plans on hold.

Gass says he understood Black’s response.

“He was doing what he felt he had to do,” Gass told Rolling Stone. “I totally understood what he needed to protect. I didn’t begrudge him any of that.”

Despite the very public pause in their partnership, Gass insists there is no lasting rift between the two longtime friends.

“Jack and I are all good,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’re friends. I’ve known Jack since he was 18. It’s like a long marriage — you go up and down.”

Looking back, Gass described the aftermath as overwhelming.

“It was like a tsunami of s—t rolling over you,” he said. “And then there’s the regret. Like, ‘Why would I do that?’ I just didn’t put it together. The ramifications were so huge.”

While Tenacious D’s future remains uncertain, Gass made one thing clear: the joke is something he wishes he could take back — and a moment that permanently changed the band’s path.