Dark Details About The Impractical Jokers Cast

"Impractical Jokers" has always felt like a more family-friendly version of "Jackass," with pranks that are usually pretty lighthearted in nature. But, while most of the gags are innocent enough and cause no real harm, there are actually some dark details about the four main cast members that you may not be aware of. There have been several scandals and shocking revelations over the years, from accusations of sexual assault to lawsuits from angry bystanders and former crew members.

Some of these things involve pretty obscure information that you probably didn't know about the Impractical Jokers guys, going all the way back to their first ever relationships in some cases. What's hiding under the rugs of these daring performers? Without further ado, here are some dark details about the "Impractical Jokers" cast that are pretty shocking.

Former "Impractical Jokers" cast member Joe Gatto has been accused by two different women of sexual assault and harassment, respectively. The first set of accusations came from a TikTok user posting under the moniker joozyb, who claims that Gatto sexually assaulted her when she was 19 after they messaged each other on social media and he invited her back to his hotel room. "Yes he did S.A me," she said on TikTok. "I'm sorry you guys don't want to hear it." Gatto denied these accusations in a statement to Page Six, saying: "I have used poor judgment and as a result have violated the trust of the people I love most. But anyone who knows me at all knows full well that I wouldn't assault anyone."

The scandal surrounding Gatto deepened when a second woman came forward with accusations of sexual harassment. The woman, who, according to People, started working with Gatto on "Impractical Jokers" not long after graduating from college, said that he crossed personal lines with her. She claims that he touched her in a manner she found to be inappropriate and asked her to massage him. She also said that Gatto would message her privately on social media and call her "hot," and that he would act possessive of her whenever she shared photos of her boyfriend.

Following these accusations, Gatto opted to get treatment. "Having taken some time to reflect, I've decided to voluntarily enter an inpatient program to continue working on myself," he told People in an exclusive statement. "I just want to thank my friends, fans and especially my family for all of their support — never more so than over the last few days." All upcoming dates on his comedy tour were canceled and Gatto seemingly won't be returning to "Impractical Jokers" anytime soon.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

This isn't the first time that Joe Gatto has attracted negative attention for his personal life. When he quit "Impractical Jokers" in 2021, he explained via an Instagram post that it was so he could spend more personal time with his family. He said that he needed to be around his kids more because he and his wife were separating. "I have to step away. Bessy and I have decided to amicably part ways, so now I need to focus on being the best father and co-parent to our two incredible kids," he wrote. He went on to praise his co-workers and the show's fans for brightening up his life and being supportive of his choices.

After some time apart, the couple decided to give it another go. Gatto let the world know by honoring his tenth anniversary with Bessy on Instagram. He wrote "Thanks for this decade. 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." The current status of the couple is unknown — the TikTok user who has accused Gatto of sexually assaulting her has claimed that the incident took place after the former "Impractical Jokers" star rekindled things with his wife. "He had JUST gotten back together with his wife," she said in a TikTok post.

Brian "Q" Quinn has gained a reputation among the show's fanbase for being a big sweetheart, often undergoing punishments that make him sympathetic toward the show's audience. He's also been fairly unlucky in love over the years. In a story he told on the podcast he co-hosts, "Tell 'Em Steve-Dave," he revealed that he lost his former fiancée to a police officer — just two weeks before they were due to tie the knot. Even the tale of how Q lost his virginity to his first girlfriend has become something of a dark detail in the "Impractical Jokers" history.

He revealed on the show that it happened on a family vacation to Locust Lake with a "nice girl named Jen." Further information slipped out in multiple podcast appearances he subsequently made: He revealed that she's currently imprisoned (or, at least, she was at the time of the recording). Deeper into the anecdote, he divulged the fact that the woman's sister is famous. Intrepid fans of the show have since tried to track the woman down using these context clues, but, unless Q divulges a name, fans will never know exactly who she is.

Q also hasn't had great luck in the health department. He revealed during a Q&A held at The Friars Club that he became very sick with a mystery illness in 2017. It all began when had a minor stroke onstage during the 100th episode of "Impractical Jokers," which was being broadcast live. It was later determined to be an encephalitis virus which caused swelling in his brain and passed to him through hand-to-hand contact. He was promptly plunged into weeks of agony. It ended up going away on its own and Q made a complete and full recovery, but he was forced to sit on the sidelines during more than one stunt-laden episode of the series.

He subsequently survived a bout with COVID-19. He recovered fully from that illness, as well. One health-related issue Q has always been passionate about is depression and mental wellness; he's spoken frankly and repeatedly on "Impractical Jokers" and "Tell 'Em Steve-Dave" about his ongoing struggle with feeling low. He often uplifts others going through mental health issues, especially when related to firefighters who have to work in the field and deal with PTSD — he's a former FDNY firefighter himself and has publicly supported charities like Friends of Firefighters. It's a non-profit that provides counseling and peer support for firefighters, who, as Q himself put it in a PSA, are "the closest thing we have to superheroes." You can donate to Friends of Firefighters here.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

It's amazing that it hasn't happened more often when you consider the nature of "Impractical Jokers," but TruTV and the show's producers have been sued on two occasions. One lawsuit related to the program was lodged in 2019. A woman named Giovanna Santoni-Waldinger sued the show for filming her eating at a restaurant in Times Square as part of a prank. One of the Jokers was filmed near her, capturing her reaction to a loud and inappropriate conversation.

Santoni-Waldinger refused to sign a waiver which would allow the footage to air unblurred, but she claimed the moment aired with her visage clearly visible on the network anyway. The footage was also posted online. "I just want justice. I saw what they did and it's not right," she told The New York Post, declaring that while the clip she was in was only 88 seconds long, it was enough for people to recognize her.

This isn't the only lawsuit the series has coped with; former crew member Larry Crisci sued TruTV for continuing to use his name after his departure. The Jokers calling for help from an offscreen person known as "That Larry Guy" became a running joke, so they kept doing it even after Crisci left. He didn't give them permission to do this, and, per TMZ, he sued for $500,000 as a result.

James "Murr" Murray might not suffer as much as Q does on "Impractical Jokers," but he's definitely drawn the short straw on a number of occasions. On one occasion, Murr packed himself into an ice cream cart and had the other guys wheel him about for a prank. Unfortunately for Murr, the truck wasn't filled with normal ice but dry ice, which is a hundred times colder than your freezer according to the American Burn Association. Murr would soon learn that the hard way: He suffered some bad burns during the prank and needed treatment.

"I got second degree burns actually from the dry ice and went to the hospital after filming. No joke," he revealed on his X account. Fortunately, Murr made a recovery, but the memory of that day is understandably less than delicious for Murr and the crew. This definitely isn't the most serious injury that's happened on the show — an obstacle course that injured not one but two cast members perhaps fits that bill — but since it was such an unexpected way for him to be hurt it's among the darkest moments ever on "Impractical Jokers." 

Emotional trauma is also something of a hallmark for "Impractical Jokers" crew members. The team has gotten humiliating tattoos and been through all sorts of physical punishments together. James "Murr" Murray once had his favorite childhood blanket burned right before his very eyes, but that's not the stunt that panicked him the most severely. He is deathly afraid of heights, and it turns out that when he was forced to go skydiving for a punishment, he was genuinely petrified. He had an emotional breakdown headed to the jump, and cried and screamed as he made his descent.

Murr said goodbye to his family before the stunt took place, and he admitted he texted them in case the chute didn't open. While the show's producers were ready to sub in someone else to take the dive if need be, Murr jumped anyway. He's not as upset by the time he lands, and he even playfully vows revenge on his friends. But the whole scene feels ugly and disturbing. While for some fans this might be one of the best "Impractical Jokers" episodes, Murr was so clearly afraid that watching him go through the stunt is nerve wracking, making it one dark day in the show's history.

Over the years, some episodes of "Impractical Jokers" have been tweaked or, in some cases, removed altogether. A number of episodes involving Joe Gatto being told to kiss and massage strangers were removed from both Max and YouTube. However, this was several years before sexual assault and harassment accusations were made against him, so it's hard to know just why these episodes were pulled. Fans began to speculate that something must have happened behind the scenes for this step to be taken. "Man, they removed certain episodes [of] Impractical Jokers with Joe Gatto... very particular ones. I hate to be whatever but... something happened there. It'll come out," X user @settlemlCFB wrote (via Distractify).

Was this a pre-emptive move based on internal complaints, or just a coincidence? We'll likely never know — and the truth is that episodes have been re-cut and removed for a variety of reasons, including copyright. Apparently Nintendo had a bit of a problem with a gag centered around Mario and Princess Peach. "Watching an episode of impractical jokers that had one of the guys dressing up as mario. they just reaired it and removed every mention of mario and princess peach and censored the mario logo," remarked X user @electrotriple11. All clips of this joke were also removed from YouTube and the archived version on Max. So, it's possible that the pranks involving Gatto attempting to kiss and massage people were simply in episodes that were removed for other reasons. Whatever the reason, pranks like this have not aged well.

The biggest question that most folks ask about "Impractical Jokers" is this: Is the show faked? The answer is no... for the most part. It turns out the production team intervenes if people recognize the stars of the show on the street and try to get involved in an on-going prank, a complication that's unavoidable given the nature of the show and the increasingly high profiles of the Jokers. That means literally wrangling people away from the cameras during pranks to keep them from making things awkward. "We have our production team that helps us swoop in and Liam Neeson these people, like 'Taken' — [they] pull them off to the side," Joe Gatto told Life & Style Magazine.

It might be the only way to deal with anyone that could derail the process, but it does take away from the idea that the guys are out there in the real world doing their thing among unsuspecting members of the public. Naturally, the show doesn't use all of the footage that gets filmed, which means that there are people edited out for legal reasons. That also breaks the realism the show usually aims for. Just to be clear – "Impractical Jokers" is not a scripted show. However, the end result is less organic than you might assume, and while it's not as dark as the details above, it's certainly a detail that makes the series seem less authentic.