Joe Gatto may best be known for cracking jokes and playing pranks, but he recently had to go into defense mode. The Impractical Jokers alum was recently caught on camera coming to a woman’s defense in Montreal, Canada after an anti-fur activist began berating the woman in public.
It is unclear when exactly the incident took place, but video shared by TMZ Wednesday showed the woman in question waiting to cross the street at a busy intersection while walking her two dogs. The woman, who was not identified, appeared to be wearing a fur coat, something that one anti-fur activist took issue with. In the clip, the man recording the video could be heard asking the woman why she’d wear fur, at one point even asking if she was wearing dog fur. The person behind the camera didn’t get to go much further, because Gatto soon stepped in and put the man in his place, telling him, “Stop verbally assaulting a woman in the street. And stop being a piece of s—.”
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Len Goldberg, the anti-fur activist who recorded the video, told TMZ he was saddened by Gatto’s reaction, noting that the comedian “represents himself publicly as an animal lover.” Goldberg said, “I’m saddened that Joe Gatto, who represents himself publicly as an animal lover, would call me a ‘piece of s-‘ when all I did was repeatedly ask this woman why she supports skinning beaver but not dogs for a status statement, instead of letting her change the subject as all fur-wearers do when I pose this question. I’m sad Joe doesn’t regard these beaver, who were crushed to death for a fur coat, as being the real victims.” Gatto, known to be a strong proponent of animal adoption, has not publicly addressed the situation at this time.
Gatto is of course best known as one fourth of The Tenderloins, the comedy troupe also consisting of Sal Vulcano, James Murray, and Brian Quinn at the center of truTV’s Impractical Jokers, which premiered in 2011. Gatto announced on Dec. 31, 2021, that he would be leaving the show to focus on his family after he and his wife Bessy split, writing on his Instagram account, “Outside of my family, my relationships with Murr, Q, and Sal have been the most important in my life. I know they will continue to make the world laugh. And even though the four of us are the ones who you all see, this show is only possible due to the hard work of the talented crew members who work behind the scenes. I am very thankful to have worked with each and every one of them.”
In the more than a year since his Impractical Jokers exit, Gatto has continued his standup career. Not long after the announcement, he began a comedy tour. He also announced plans to launch a podcast called Two Cool Moms with fellow comedian Steve Byrne. Just last month, Gatto told the New Hampshire Union that he is “looking forward to starting over in 2023 on a better foot.”
