Comedian Joe Gatto has announced that he is leaving the popular troupe, The Tenderloins, and their show, Impractical Jokers, to focus on his personal life and co-parenting his two children. Gatto is a founding member of the group.
“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,” Gatto wrote in an announcement on Instagram. “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.”
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The remaining stars of Impractical Jokers, Sal Vulcano, Brian “Q” Quinn, and James “Murr” Murray, released a statement of their own expressing their support for Gatto’s decision.
“Hi everyone, so here we are,” the trio began. “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,”
Impractical Jokers was renewed by truTV for a 10th season, last Feburary.
[Via]