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‘Impractical Jokers’ Stars Reflect on Joe Gatto’s Exit Ahead of Season 10: ‘We Had to Respect His Choice’
The show must go on! Season 10 of Impractical Jokers promises to still be hilarious, even though founding member Joe Gatto announced he was quitting the show on December 31, 2021. His fellow jokers, , say they had to “give him space” while the trio proceeded on the new season without him.
“We are having so much fun, and our fans aren’t over [the show] yet,” Sal explained in an April 5 interview with Us Weekly. “We still feel like we have some stuff to do yet. And so we’re like, ‘All right, we’ll figure it out. We’ll evolve the show like we normally do. And if we don’t have fun, we’ll stop.’”
Sal said that the remaining trio didn’t “really” see Joe quitting the show ahead of his bombshell Instagram announcement. “We had to give him his space, and we had to respect his choice,” Sal shared. While Joe is no longer part of the show, his friendship with his longtime pals is alive and well.
“We went to dinner a few weeks ago, the four of us,” Murr told the publication. He and “Q” even pranked Joe when the bill arrived. “When Sal came back from the bathroom, we had all taken off without paying the bill, sticking him with the $700 bill for the Italian restaurant. So, Joe’s still our best friend and the hijinks live on.”
Joe revealed in a New Year’s Eve Instagram post that he and his wife Bessy were splitting up after more than eight years of marriage and he was leaving Impractical Jokers to focus on family matters. The former couple share a 7-year-old daughter Milana Francis and a 4-year-old son Remington Joseph.
“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,” his caption began.
“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,” Joe continued. “However, due to some issues in my personal life, I have to step away. [Bessy Gatto] 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.”
“Q,” Sal and Murr responded to Joe’s revelation by saying that they were “saddened” and “never imagined making Impractical Jokers without Joe” but would continue with the show and make a “new chapter” of the beloved truTV series.
