‘I have used poor judgement’: Impractical Jokers star Joe Gatto addresses sexual assault allegations
Joe Gatto was part of the four-person reality prank show Impractical Jokers. The four friends would trick each other and put themselves in uncomfortable situations. Gatto suddenly left, and now he’s addressing sexual assault allegations against him.
Allegations surfaced on social media when a young woman alleged that she met Gatto at a restaurant with her family and was then invited to his comedy show. She alleged she drunkenly messaged with Gatto on Instagram DMs and he turned on “vanish mode” and sent her the address to his hotel.
According to her TikTok posts (linked below), she went there and alleged that this all happened when she was newly 19 and after Gatto got back together with his wife. She did not go into detail of what happened.
Gatto responded to the allegations in a statement he told to Page Six. “I have used poor judgment and as a result have violated the trust of the people I love most. But anyone who knows me at all knows full well that I wouldn’t assault anyone.”
The statement continued with Gatto saying he planned to take time to work on himself. “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,” the statement reads.
In the allegation video, posted by TikTok user @joozyb, she described meeting Gatto. She revealed the messages allegedly sent between the two that led to her going to his comedy show alone and how he told her to meet him at his hotel room later.
“Don’t meet your stars,” she said in conclusion. She has since posted other videos of her Instagram interactions with Gatto.
The news comes after fans had wondered what happened to Gatto on the show. He went through a rough patch with his wife and cited “personal” reasons to explain his leaving. It is unknown if Gatto left because of these accusations or something else entirely.
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