Jackass star Steve-O has said he is still “upset” and “offended” by a 2001 Tenacious D song about Ronnie James Dio.
The song in question is ‘Dio’, from the comedy duo’s self-titled debut album, in which they sing, “It’s time to pass the torch / You’re too old to rock / No more rockin’ for you / We’re taking you to a home / But we will sing a song about you”.
Dio himself, known for his stints in Black Sabbath and Rainbow as well as his own band Dio, approved of the song and later played himself in the film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny and provided vocals for the film’s opening number ‘Kickapoo’.
However, in a recent episode of his podcast Steve-O’s Wild Ride!, he disclosed that he still holds a grudge against the track.
“I’m very upset with Jack Black’s song about Dio,” he said. “I just felt very offended. I mean it’s tongue-in-cheek for sure, it’s comedy, but don’t disparage my Ronnie James Dio.”
Steve-O’s guest, Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine, also roundly defended the legendary metal singer, adding: “There are just some guys who are untouchable. Jack is a comedian and that’s what comedians do, they try to get a rise out of people.
Elsewhere, Tenacious D got into controversy in July when Kyle Gass made a joke on stage about the attempted assassination on Donald Trump.
“Don’t miss Trump next time,” he said in Sydney the day after the event, leading to the rest of the duo’s tour being cancelled. Jack Black later said he had been “blindsided” by the comment and did not condone hate speech or political violence.
Gass apologised on Instagram shortly after, calling his words “highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake”, but deleted the apology later that week.
The comments even led to Australian federal senator Ralph Babet calling for the duo’s deportation. “I condemn in the strongest possible way the call to political violence by Tenacious D in Sydney on Sunday. To advocate and or wish for the assassination of a President is egregious, disgusting, filthy, evil, and not acceptable in any way, shape or form. This was not a joke, he was deadly serious when he wished for the death of the President.”
In the weeks after the storm, Black said the band “need to take a break, everybody needs a break sometime. And we’ll be back”.
Steve-O, meanwhile, is teaming up with Tony Hawk for a new skating show, Sk8 or Die: The Lee Ralph Story, a scripted series telling the story of the New Zealand skateboarder who rose to the top of his game in the 1980s before suddenly disappearing from the scene.