Former Impractical Jokers star Joe Gatto is defending himself against assault allegations.
“I have used poor judgment and as a result have violated the trust of the people I love most,” Gatto told Page Six on Saturday, March 22. “But anyone who knows me at all knows full well that I wouldn’t assault anyone.”
He added, “Working on myself is an ongoing process, and I am now going to take some time away from the public eye to focus my energies where I need to.”
A person who goes by the username @joozyb on TikTok levied allegations against Gatto in a video published on Friday, March 21. “I got sexually assaulted by Joe Gatto, the ‘Impractical Joker,’” the woman said.
She went on to claim the alleged assault took place in September 2023 in Milwaukee when he and his wife had recently reunited. The TikTok user didn’t describe the details of the alleged incident, but said that “some stuff happened.”
In a second video she also shared two screenshots of DMs the pair allegedly shared between one another. Gatto reportedly told her he would leave “two meet and greet passes” for her at the box office. The pair allegedly continued to speak after the show.
“I was drunk, whatever, and he was texting me all this stuff. And, like, it was starting to get a little weird, you know,” she said in her video. Gatto also allegedly put the messages, which appear to have been exchanged on Instagram, in vanish mode.
“I’ve been wanting to tell people this for so long,” she concluded. “I’ve like, tried in different ways, but it’s hard with somebody this big. [I’ve] come to the realization that if I do say something, that I’m really saying something.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Gatto’s reps for comments.
The actor and comedian first split up from his wife, Bessy Gatto, in January 2022. In his first stand-up appearance since leaving Impractical Jokers, Gatto was asked, “How’s life going?” in the middle of his performance.
“He was like, ‘Pretty f—ing fantastic,’” the insider exclusively told Us at the time, noting it was “one of the better jokes,” and one of very few that appeared to address his marital status. “He didn’t really get into his personal life,” the source added. “He made a couple jokes about it, and he moved on to the next. He never stayed on one topic for too long.”
Gatto also told several jokes about the pets that he and Bessy shared, which at the time was 17 dogs, many of whom were foster animals. “One of the questions was like, ‘[Name] your favorite dog versus your favorite kid,’ and that’s as much he talked about his kids,” the eyewitness told Us.
The pair share two children together, daughter Milana and son Remington.
“When I committed to my upcoming series of shows starting in the Midwest this week, I obviously had no idea what life would look like at this moment,” Joe captioned an Instagram post at the time. “Regardless, we can all use some laughter and kindness right now, and I’ll therefore be keeping all of my dates.”
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