Joe Gatto, one of the stars of “Impractical Jokers,” announced in a social media post that he is leaving the comedy show.
In an Instagram post on Friday, Gatto, 45, who has appeared in 236 episodes of the TruTV prank show since its 2011 debut, said that he and his wife have separated and he wanted to spend time co-parenting his children, Variety reported.
“Sorry in advance for the long and more-serious-than-usual note below, I just wanted to let you all know that I will no longer be involved with ‘Impractical Jokers,’” Gatto wrote. “Alongside my friends, I’ve devoted a decade of my life to building this franchise and couldn’t be prouder of what has been accomplished. However, due to some issues in my personal life, I have to step away. Bessy and I have decided to amicably part ways, so now I need to focus on being the best father and co-parent to our two incredible kids.”
Gatto and his wife have been married since 2013, People reported.
Gatto formed The Tenderloins with his high school friends Sal Vulcano, Brian “Q” Quinn and James “Murr” Murray in 1999, Variety reported. They continued to perform together on “Impractical Jokers.”
The rest of the cast members shared a statement saying that “Impractical Jokers” will keep going without Gatto, and they will resume making a “new chapter” sometime this month, according to Variety.
“Hi everyone, so here we are…After all these years together, we never imagined making ‘Impractical Jokers’ without Joe. While we are saddened to see him go, we want to keep making people laugh, keep our relationship working with the members of our team that we consider family. With the support of our fans, we’ll get back to making a new chapter of ‘Impractical Jokers’ in January,” Murray, Quinn and Vulcano said in a statement.
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