“Calling for the President to get shot again? Shame on you,” wrote another on the band’s Instagram. “I wholeheartedly supported Tenacious D for over 20 years. I am done.”
Controversial right-wing senator Ralph Babet, of the United Australia Party, was quick to denounce Gass’ gag, claiming it was “not a joke” and insisting he was “deadly serious when he wished for the death of the president”. (Former presidents retain that title in the US, though Babet also referred to Trump as “the 45th and soon-to-be 47th president of the United States”.)
“Anything less than deportation is an endorsement of the shooting and attempted assassination of Donald J Trump,” Babet said in a statement posted to social media on Tuesday.
With the sudden but unexplained news that Newcastle’s show will not go ahead on Tuesday night, fans have been left to speculate on the reason and to wonder if the rest of the tour is also in doubt.
Tenacious D are due to play at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Thursday, Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne on Saturday and the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Monday, before jetting to New Zealand for shows in Auckland and Wellington. Frontier has so far declined to comment on whether these shows will go ahead as planned, or if and when the Newcastle show will be rescheduled.