Tenacious D comedy-rocker makes gag

Managing editor Michelle Pini discusses Tenacious D band member Kyle Gass' inappropriate joke and whether it's worthy of international uproar.

NO, we’re not condoning violence and sure, the joke was inappropriate, but are we really so worked up over a gag about a violence-inciting, convicted criminal whose go-to form of communication is hate speech and threats against anyone who disagrees with him?

Are Australians – barring Ralp Babet, Kyle Sandilands and Co – genuinely offended?

In case you haven’t seen the latest international episode involving Trump – no, not the shooting incident – Kyle Gass of comedy-rock duo Tenacious D fame made a joke about the failed assassination attempt on the Republican presidential candidate and shock, horror, all hell has broken loose.

After singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Gass during their July 14 Sydney performance, Jack Black asked his bandmate's birthday wish, to which Gass quipped, “Don’t miss Trump next time".

This prompted freedom of speech cheerleader UAP Senator Babet to call for the band's deportation and offended radio host Kyle Sandilands – who is literally a shock jock – such that the band scored a lifetime ban from his program

Even if your sense of humour struggles to find an outlet, then surely, the anti-establishment spirit of rock and roll should provoke a glimmer of understanding. Think The Clash, Midnight Oil, The Saints, Sex Pistols, Divinyls, Green Day or Russia’s Pussy Riot. Would any of these bands cancel a tour because someone got upset over a thoughtless joke? Even if it made light of an assassination attempt — or worse?

If neither comedy nor music does it for you, then spare a thought for the vile hate speech escaping some of the mouths of our politicians and commentators on a daily basis about which no one – certainly not self-appointed outrage police Babbet or Sandilands – seems to mind, below.

1. Jocular Alan Jones

Sweet-talking shock jock Alan Jones made a career out of calling for people, particularly women, to be drowned, hanged or otherwise meet untimely deaths, with this choice and oft-repeated statement, perhaps his most infamous:

"They should shove [Prime Minister Julia Gillard] ... in a chaff bag and take [her] as far out to sea as they can and tell [her] to swim home."

2. Riotous former PM Abbott

And who can forget the very amusing incident when then-Opposition Leader Tony Abbott stood with people protesting former PM Julia Gillard's carbon tax while holding placards with slogans calling her a "bitch" and demanding, 'Ditch the witch'.

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3. Hilariously cooked Liberal MPs

Not quite three years ago, State Liberal MPs mingled with a mob chanting violent slogans and holding nooses, while gathered around a makeshift gallows complete with a blow-up doll of the Premier on the steps of Victoria’s Parliament, "protesting" pandemic laws.

The conservative politicians – including David Davis and Bernie Finn.

Finn even posted a selfie with the mob, which he described as 'a couple of thousand of my closest friends' – mingled with around 500 cookers, the leader of whom said of then-Premier Dan Andrews:

“I look forward to the day I get to see you dance on the end of a rope.”

4. Side-splitting Sandilands

Meanwhile, radio host Kyle Sandilands – who is so offended by Gass' joke that he felt compelled to ban Tenacious D from his show – routinely employs aggressive, misogynistic, bigoted and racist language.

His vile, degrading slurs most often demean women in particular, such as the following example from this week's program, in reference to a young woman:

"She's not a porn whore, she's just a girl who spits on dicks."

5. Blubbering Babet's buffoonery

Then there's Ralph Babet and his outraged call for the band to be deported.

Now, once again, we're not suggesting anyone should call for violence of any kind, but people in glass houses, Ralph...

Babet is an enthusiastic Trump supporter who also trumpets on about free speech and likes to mingle with Neo-Nazis in his spare time. You can read more about Ralph's antics, here.

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6. Hysterically unfunny Trump

Donald Trump, of course, is a convicted felon and a serial inciter of violence.

in 2020, Trump allegedly asked about demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd:

"Can't you just shoot them? Just shoot them in the legs or something?"

In 2015, Trump said:

“When you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families... When they say they don’t care about their lives, you have to take out their families.”

You can read more of Trump's best violence-inciting quotes in this excellent summary from Alan Austin in the Daily Kos here.

The joke is on us

It seems more than a little ironic that the people jumping up and down about something said in jest by a member of a comedic rock duo had very little to say when unhinged cookers were calling for the head of a state Premier or when shock jocks were inciting violence against a sitting PM.

As MFW tweeted:

'It’s not the words that are the issue here, it’s the fucking HYPOCRISY.’

Regardless, it seems even Jack Black didn’t see the funny side, cancelling the remainder of the band's Australian tour and putting "all future creative plans on hold", which is truly disappointing, regardless of whether or not you’re a fan of the man or the band.

The worst thing about this idiotic international incident over a stupid joke is not whether you find the joke funny or wildly inappropriate, or a crime worse than sexual assault or criminal fraud.

The worst thing about this latest beat-up is that the reaction from the media, politicians, commentators and even Jack Black himself has provided more outrage fodder for MAGA supporters, and garnered more sympathy and credibility for the violence-inciting, convicted criminal still running for the U.S. presidency.

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Follow managing editor Michelle Pini on Twitter @vmp9 and Independent Australia on Twitter/X @independentaus and Facebook HERE.