Joe Gatto Doesn’t Watch Impractical Jokers Since Leaving the Show — But Says He 'Never' Did (Exclusive)

Joe Gatto has announced that he is leaving Impractical pranksters nearly three years ago to focus on family, and he’s never looked back — nor has he ever watched the show that made him famous, to begin with. “Am I watching a series? No,” the comedian revealed to PEOPLE when asked during the second night of the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 21, “I try to be consistent and I’ve never watched. That’s actually true,” Gatto continued.

He added: “I’ve never seen it on TV. I always watched the editing of the show because I worked in editing. When I wasn’t editing it anymore, I didn’t have to watch it as much.”

Joe Gatto, Sal Vulcano and Brian Quinn on ‘Impractical Jokers’ 2020.

Warner Bros. / courtesy of the Everett Collection

Still, Gatto said he talks to his former co-stars — Brian “Q” Quinn, James “Murr” Murray and Sal Vulcan — all the time, and even recently hung out with Quinn in Las Vegas. “I’m still best friends with them guys,” he explained. “Our friendship started long before the show, and we’ll continue after the show. We’re just not work friends anymore.”

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Joe Gatto at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena on September 21 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

David Becker/Getty

Over the course of more than 10 years on the comedy show, Gatto was forced to do everything from stealing groceries from carts to running awful (and fake) TV shows.

But the worst thing he had to do, he told PEOPLE, was choose between axing a picture of his daughter, Milana, or his wife, Bessy. “It was such a hard decision, probably literally the hardest decision I’ve ever had to be on that show,” he said.

The PEOPLE Puzzler has arrived! How fast can you solve it? Play now! While he doesn’t miss those aspects of the series, he does miss hanging out with his friends. “[The] The worst part about being away from the show is not being able to laugh with your friends every day and get paid for it,” he said.

Added Gatto: “[The] the best part about it is that I have a little more freedom to hang out with my family, which is great.”

Impractical pranksters is available to stream online.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education