The controversy surrounding Tenacious D and their abruptly canceled tour was put aside Saturday night as Jack Black welcomed the artist responsible for inspiring them to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Inductees Ceremony.
Black was on hand to introduce Ozzy Osbourne at the star-studded event in Cleveland, Ohio, where the rocker was honored with his second induction.
The self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness, 75, was previously inducted in 2006 as a member of iconic heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath.
Sporting a heavy beard, Black, 55, looked impressed as he welcomed his musical hero after his own band was forced to cancel their tour following inappropriate comments from guitarist Kyle Gass.
Gass was forced to apologize after joking about Donald Trump being the subject of a failed assassination attempt during a performance with Tenacious D.
The controversy surrounding Tenacious D and their abruptly canceled tour was put aside Saturday night as Jack Black welcomed the artist responsible for inspiring them to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Inductees Ceremony
Black was on hand to introduce Ozzy Osbourne at the star-studded event in Cleveland, Ohio, where the rocker was honored with his second induction.
Sporting a heavy beard, Black looked impressed as he welcomed his musical hero after his own band had to cancel their tour following inappropriate comments from guitarist Kyle Gass.
Republican presidential candidate Trump was left bloodied and shaken after a bullet grazed his ear during a rally in Pennsylvania in July.
Black subsequently put “all future creative plans” for the band on hold after being “blindsided” by his bandmate’s comments on stage in Sydney.
While introducing Ozzy to a star-studded audience on Saturday night, Black admitted that listening to his music as a child influenced his own musical direction with Tenacious D.
“I remember the first time I heard of Ozzy,” he recalled. ‘I was 13 years old and wandering around the record store. What should I get? Styx? Travel?
“An older rock fan noticed my indecisiveness and said, ‘Stop hanging around, boy. This is the album you must have, Blizzard of Ozz.
“Man, was he right! Thank you, nameless rock lover, wherever you are, you changed my life. I remember looking at Ozzy’s face on that album cover before I even heard the music. I was fixated.
‘He looked so cool, that red and white suit with the white fringes on the sleeves, that crazy look in his eyes, the skull, the cross. Holy shit. The whole thing just looked so cool.
‘It was the most metal thing I had ever seen, and I didn’t even know what metal was. He was teaching me. Little did I know I was entering a whole new world of heavy metal music.”
Black introduced Ozzy to a star-studded audience on Saturday night and admitted that listening to his music as a child influenced his own musical direction with Tenacious D.
‘It was the most metal thing I had ever seen, and I didn’t even know what metal was. He was teaching me. Little did I know I was entering a whole new world of heavy metal music,” he said
Black woke up the crowd at Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Saturday night
Black had the honor of welcoming his musical hero to the stage on Saturday
Ozzy, who is battling Parkinson’s disease, took the stage on a throne decorated with bat wings
The actor and singer announced that the Tenacious D tour had been canceled and all their “creative plans” have been put on hold after his bandmate Kyle Gass sparked controversy with a comment about Donald Trump
Gass’ ill-timed joke occurred when Black sang “Happy Birthday” to the 64-year-old guitarist and asked him to make a wish, to which he replied, “Don’t miss Trump next time.”
After the concert, Black star: ‘I was blindsided by what was said during the show on Sunday.
“I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form. After much consideration, I no longer feel it is appropriate to continue the Tenacious D tour, and all future creative plans have been put on hold.
“I am grateful to the fans for their support and understanding.”
Gass also apologized, adding: “The line I improvised on stage in Sydney on Sunday night was highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake.
‘I will not tolerate violence in any form against anyone. What happened was a tragedy, and I am incredibly sorry for my severe lack of judgment.
“I sincerely apologize to those I have let down and am truly sorry for the pain I have caused.”
The comment referred to the attempted assassination of Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on Sunday
Gass, who apologized, has since been dropped by his talent agency as a direct result
An insider has since claimed that Black quickly pulled the plug on Tenacious D’s tour in a desperate bid to avoid being pushed out of Hollywood and jeopardizing his upcoming films.
“Jack Black is still best friends with Kyle Gass,” an insider exclusively told DailyMail.com. “He did not expect the joke Kyle made about Trump and his status in Hollywood forced him to immediately suppress this controversy.
“Although Jack was surprised by it and even surprised by the reaction, he made sure he was at the forefront of it.
“Jack doesn’t want to be canceled and by ending the tour and distancing himself from everything and Kyle’s joke, he hopes people will quickly forget about it.
“There are so many big films that Jack is attached to at the moment and if that were to derail it would be career suicide. We will see Tenacious D again, but it could be years away.”
In June, he gave a speech that went viral at a star-studded fundraiser in Los Angeles for President Joe Biden
But the ensuing controversy surrounding Gass and his Donald Trump joke was forgotten during Saturday night’s ceremony
Black currently has three films in post-production, including the upcoming sci-fi action comedy Borderlands, due out later this year.
He will star in the live-action film based on the video game Minecraft, alongside Jason Momoa and Danielle Brooks, which hits theaters on April 4, 2025.
He will also share the screen with Keegan-Michael Key in the new Christmas comedy Dear Santa, which follows a young boy who accidentally sends his wish list to Satan.
Gass, who has been an outspoken critic of Trump, is said to fear for his friendship with Jack.
“Kyle obviously never wanted it to get to this point,” the insider said. ‘He feels really bad about the consequences.
“He thought it was a throwaway line during a show, but it has taken on a life of its own and he accepts his current fate.
“He just hopes that people will forgive him and that this won’t affect his friendship with Jack.”