The cast of Impractical Jokers have responded to Joe Gatto’s sudden exit from the long-running comedy show.
On Friday (31 December 2021), Gatto said he would “no longer be involved with Impractical Jokers” and that he had made the decision to step away “due to some issues in my personal life.”
On Instagram, Gatto revealed he and his wife Bessy had recently separated and that he was now entirely focussed on “being the best father and co-parent” to his two children, Milana Francis and Remington Joseph Gatto.
The first season of the hidden-camera reality show was released in 2011, and the show starred Sal Vulcano, Brian “Q” Quinn, and James “Murr” Murray, alongside Gatto – collectively known as the Tenderloins comedy troupe.
Gatto wrote: “Outside of my family, my relationships with Murr, Q and Sal have been the most important in my life. I know they will continue to make the world laugh.”
In a joint statement released on Sunday (2 January), the remaining cast members said they “never imagined making Impractical Jokers” without Gatto.
However, the troupe members confirmed the show would go on.
Their statement read: “We want to keep making people laugh, keep our relationship with the Impractical Jokers fans going, and keep working with the members of our team we consider family.”
“We’ll get back to making a new chapter of Impractical Jokers in January,” Vulcano, Quinn and Murray told their followers, while thanking them for supporting the group.
Gatto co-founded comedy troupe the Tenderloins with Quinn, Murray, and Vulcano in 1998.
While they successfully navigated the sketch comedy and improv circuit in the US for a while, the group was catapulted into the national spotlight when TruTV picked up Impractical Jokers a decade ago.
The show has been renewed for a 10th season.
In a statement on the separation, Bessy said: “Although we will no longer be a couple, we will always be a family to our beautiful kids and we look forward to co-parenting together. We ask that you please respect our privacy as we navigate this new chapter together.”
