Former Impractical Jokers star Joe Gatto has denied the claims that he sexually assaulted a 19-year-old TikToker in 2023 — but says he has used “poor judgment” in the past.
“I have used poor judgment and as a result have violated the trust of the people I love most,” the 48-year-old comedian told Page Six in a statement on Saturday, March 22. “But anyone who knows me at all knows full well that I wouldn’t assault anyone.”
“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,” he concluded.
In a March 20 TikTok video, user joozyb alleged that she was “sexually assaulted by Joe Gatto, the Impractical Joker.”
In a separate TikTok video, she detailed how she met the comedian while he was performing in Milwaukee in September 2023. She explained that she had been direct messaging with Gatto via Instagram prior to the show and was also messaging with him in the hours afterward.
“I was drunk, whatever, and he was texting me all this stuff,” she said in the video. “And, like, it was starting to get a little weird, you know?”
She went on to claim that Gatto eventually sent her instructions on how to get to his hotel room and alleged that the assault occurred when she got there.
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Before posting the TikTok video detailing the alleged incident, she uploaded a TikTok montage of photos she and Gatto took together before the alleged encounter and shared alleged screenshots of their conversations. She then uploaded another TikTok shortly after of just an image of a bruised buttock, which she claimed occurred from the alleged encounter with Gatto.
“Yes he did S.A me. yes he had JUST gotten back together with his wife. I’m sorry you guys don’t want to hear it but,” she captioned the photo on TikTok.
PEOPLE reached out to Gatto’s representatives and the TikTok user for comment.
Gatto and his wife, Bessy, announced they had decided to “amicably part ways” in 2021 after eight years of marriage. In 2023, the TV personality announced that he and Bessy had reconciled and that he was “hopeful” for the future. The couple share two children.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
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