Joe Gatto has issued a response after a lady accused the Impractical Jokers alum of sexually assaulting her.
“I’ve used poor judgment and because of this have violated the belief of the individuals I like most,” mentioned Gatto in an announcement to a number of shops. “However anybody who is aware of me in any respect is aware of full nicely that I wouldn’t assault anybody. Engaged on myself is an ongoing course of, and I’m now going to take a while away from the general public eye to focus my energies the place I have to.”
A TikTok person who goes by joozyb beforehand accused the comic of sexually assaulting her when she was 19, claiming the incident occurred at a Milwaukee lodge after seeing considered one of his exhibits in September 2023.
“I bought sexually assaulted by Joe Gatto, the Impractical Joker,” she mentioned in a video posted on Thursday, noting that she’s been sharing concerning the expertise with Gatto “for over a yr” and didn’t anticipate it to out of the blue go viral.
Sharing alleged screenshots of their DMs, joozyb mentioned that after offering meet and greet passes for her, Gatto put the dialog in vanish mode and invited her upstairs to his lodge room.
She additionally shared a photograph of bruises on her bottom, claiming Gatto made them “along with his tooth,” including that it occurred after he’d “JUST gotten again collectively along with his spouse.”
“I’ve been wanting to inform individuals this for thus lengthy,” she mentioned. “I’ve tried in numerous methods, however it’s laborious with any person this massive. [I’ve] come to the conclusion that if I do say one thing, that I’m actually saying one thing.”
Alongside along with his Tenderloins comedy troupe—Sal Vulcano, James Murray and Brian Quinn—Gatto starred on the TruTV hidden digital camera collection Impractical Jokers from 2011 to 2021.
For those who or somebody you already know has been sexually assaulted, assist is on the market through RAINN’s Nationwide Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) and their on-line chat hotline.
