In a long interview with former President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, reporter Andrew Callaghan alleges that George Clooney ordered Jack Black to break up Tenacious D after the duo’s guitarist Kyle Gass asked that Thomas Matthew Crooks, who allegedly attempted to assassinate Donald Trump in 2024, “aim a little higher next time.”
Reps for Clooney and Jack Black did not immediately respond to Variety’s requests for comment.
Two and a half hours into the video, following a claim that George Clooney’s wife Amal was responsible for a full-page advertisement requesting an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Callaghan says, “My only really famous Hollywood friend is actor Jack Black, we used to be neighbors in [Los Angeles], and Tenancious D did a concert in Sydney Australia, and, this is the day after they tried to assassinate Trump, and I guess Jack Black’s guitarist or whatever jumps up on stage, and he yells something into the effect of ‘Hey, next time you try to shoot Trump, aim a little bit closer.’” (That is not a verbatim recounting of the quote.)
He continues, “George Clooney is blowing his phone up, being like, “If you don’t kick your bandmember out of the band and, like, publicly denounce this guy — like I don’t know what the consequences were, but it was kind of like, “You’re out!’ Out of what, we don’t know. And so his hand was basically forced to be like, ‘Oh, sorry, my bandmember has serious mental-health problems. We’re breaking up the band for now. The tour is canceled.’” (That also is not an entirely accurate recounting of events.)
“And so,” he continues, “ mean, it is cool to see Hollywood actors voice more progressive opinions, but…”
“Fuck him!” Biden shouts. “Fuck him and everybody around him!” He then launches into a long tirade about Clooney.
“I don’t have to be fucking nice! Number one. I agree with Quentin Tarantino. Fucking George Clooney is not a fucking actor. He is a fucking, like, I don’t know what he is. He’s a brand.”
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Biden then abruptly changes tack to say nice things about Clooney.
“And by the way and God bless him, you know what? He supposedly treats his friends really well, he buys them things and he’s got a really great place in Lake Como and he’s great friends with Barack Obama. Fuck you! What do you have to do with fucking anything? Why do I have to fucking listen to you?” He then continues his tirade about Clooney’s alleged efforts to tear down former President Biden.
See the full video below.
On July 14, 2024, Tenacious D was performing at the ICC Sydney Theatre on, the day after the Trump rally shooting in Butler, Pa., where the current president was apparently grazed in the ear by a bullet allegedly fired by Crooks. At the show, Black presented a cake to Gass on stage to celebrate the latter’s 64th birthday. When Black asked Gass to make a wish, Gass responded: “Don’t miss Trump next time.”
“I was blindsided by what was said at the show on Sunday,” Black said in a statement at the time. “I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form.”
He continued, “After much reflection, I no longer feel it is appropriate to continue the Tenacious D tour, and all future creative plans are on hold. I am grateful to the fans for their support and understanding.”
From Variety US