Impractical Jokers star has left the show — and these episodes are now gone

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Departure and episode disappearance leaves more questions than answers

Impractical Jokers at MTV Movie Awards 2021
(Image credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/2021 MTV Movie and TV Awards/Getty Images for MTV/ViacomCBS)

Impractical Jokers, a popular unscripted reality series, lost one of its biggest names earlier this month when cast member Joseph "Joe" Gatto left. And now some episodes of the show have disappeared from TruTV.

The series finds the Tenderloins comedy troupe (Gatto and James "Murr" Murray, Brian "Q" Quinn, and Sal Vulcano) in a series of hidden camera experiments where one of the members is in the field, and the rest are talking to him through an earpiece. Then, whomever fails to accomplish the challenge as well as the rest of the troupe is forced to do some humiliating punishment. 

The Impractical Jokers episodes taken down have one commonality

After double-checking on HBO Max ourselves, we can confirm that the missing Impractical Jokers episodes are as follows:

  • Impractical Jokers season 4 episode 9: The Dream Crusher
  • Impractical Jokers season 4 episode 24: Stripped of Dignity
  • Impractical Jokers season 7 episode 12: Bull Shiatsu 
  • Impractical Jokers season 8 episode 16: Sun-Fan Lotion 
  • Impractical Jokers season 8 episode 25: Rock Bottom

And as r/ImpracticalJokers subReddit poster SamuelGold502 found, there's one common thread between all of those episodes: Gatto being put into a sexually inappropriate situation:

Then, Reddit poster sonofodin25 tried to tie all the loose threads together, in a post titled "Is Joe About To Be Cancelled?" which speculates many reasons as to what is happening. We won't go into that user's thoughts here, but he does note, "Whatever this is, it's more than divorce."

For more about what's going on in entertainment, check out our explainer on the first big canceled show of 2022. and check out the one thing you should watch if you loved Jackass Forever.

Henry T. Casey
Henry T. Casey

Henry was a managing editor at Tom’s Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past seven years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He's also covered the wild world of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.