We’re coming up on the one-year anniversary of the deadly, horrific insurrection attempt on Capitol Hill in honor of that last guy who still won’t shut up—and very few people have been held accountable for their actions.
However, a new report from The Daily Beast seems to indicate at least one new person is facing consequences at their place of work. Everyone, say hello to Suspect Number 247:
...who, um, seems all-but-certainly to be Jay Johnston—character actor, Mr. Show alum, and voice of Bob’s Burgers fan favorite, Jimmy Pesto Sr.
“According to two people familiar with the matter, top staff at the long-running animated sitcom Bob’s Burgers are no longer allowing Johnston to voice his recurring character,” explain reporters at The Daily Beast.
According to The Daily Beast, the animated sitcom’s cast, crew, and producers are hoping to avoid making “a big deal” out of the whole “participated in a bloody coup attempt” thing.
Johnston has voiced Pesto Sr., in 43 episodes over the show’s 12-season-and-counting run. He last showed up during “The Bridge Over Troubled Rudy,” which first aired this past May. As The Daily Beast notes, however, Johnston has been completely absent during Season 12.
Now, it’s probably important to note here that this hasn’t been confirmed by FOX execs or by Johnston himself (the former has “no comment,” and the latter is staying mum on the matter). Likewise, the FBI has not charged or arrested the veteran character actor as of yet. But all that said, multiple former coworkers and cast mates have voiced their certainty of Johnston’s attendance in the months following the FBI’s first photo releases of Suspect Number 247.
“I’m no detective, but I do know Jay. He said he was there. And that’s him in the picture. So…” tweeted actress Cassandra Church in March. In another, a now deleted tweet, Tim Heidecker wrote that he had Johnston’s attendance “fully confirmed through reliable sources,” although he soon cautioned he “shouldn’t be used as some kind of official source of information or verification.”
So yeah, for legal reasons we cannot say with absolute certainty just yet that Jay Johnston has been largely blacklisted by the comedy community for his participation in January’s MAGA cultist feeding frenzy...but damn. Seriously, Jay?