‘Impractical Jokers’: Is the Cast Still Friends With Joe Gatto? Their Relationship After His Exit
When Impractical Jokers premiered in 2011, viewers fell in love with The Tenderloins, a group of four comedian friends who compete against each other in silly games that rely on their improvisation skills. From 2011 to 2021, the group consisted of James Murray, Sal Vulcano, Joe Gatto, and Brian Quinn.
However, Gatto opted to leave The Tenderloins and Impractical Jokers in 2011. The other three guys have continued with the fun, but where do they stand with their former group member? Scroll down for everything we know.
Is the Impractical Jokers cast still friends with Joe Gatto?
Yes, Gatto and the rest of the cast are still friends, despite his decision to leave the show. The guys have all been friends since high school, so their friendship began long before there was any fame involved.
From the moment Gatto announced his departure from Impractical Jokers on Instagram, he made it clear that he had nothing but love and respect for his friends and costars. “Outside of my family, my relationships with Murr, Q and Sal have been the most important in my life,” he wrote on Instagram. “I know they will continue to make the world laugh.”
In January 2025, Gatto also assured The Wrap that his exit from Impractical Jokers won’t be the end of his collaborations with Quinn, Vulcano, and Murray. “We have been doing it for decades before that, and we will be doing it for decades after,” he confirmed. “We work on little side things here and there together. I love working with them. So who knows?”
When Gatto taped his first comedy special, Messing With People, in 2024, the guys showed up for the taping, he said on Theo Von‘s podcast. “They come and see me, I see them when they’re on the road,” he shared. “It’s fun. We try to give each other the support.” He also reiterated, “Yeah, we’re still boys.”
Why did Joe Gatto leave Impractical Jokers?
Gatto left Impractical Jokers amid “some issues in [his] personal life,” he announced in December 2021, also revealing that he and his wife, Bessy, had decided to separate “amicably.”
“Now I need to focus on being the best father and co-parent to our two incredible kids,” Gatto explained.
Gatto and his wife ended up reconciling. He confirmed they were back together in September 2023. “Thanks for this decade,” he wrote on Instagram. “And I’m happy and hopeful that we will be able to get a few more in because we have proven with compassion, forgiveness, and an open heart we can do this. Together.”
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Will Joe Gatto ever return to Impractical Jokers?
No. Gatto said in January 2025 that he has no plans to ever return to the improv show. “It does not feel right, and I cannot commit to coming back to it,” he told The Wrap. “I’ve moved on from the show, the show has moved on from me. I am so removed from it.”
The one circumstance Gatto could come back for, though, would be a series finale. “I would, of course, love to close it in a fun way,” he admitted. “We talked about that a little bit.”
Impractical Jokers, Season 12, Thursdays, 10/9c, TBS
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