Actor and comedian Jay Johnston was fired from animated sitcom ‘Bob’s Burgers’ over his alleged role in the storming of US Capitol in January, the Daily Beast reported.
Johnston will not be allowed to continue voicing Jimmy Pesto Sr., a recurring popular character on Fox network’s animated sitcom ‘Bob’s Burgers’, the Daily Beast reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
One source described the step as a “ban,” while another said that Fox and the show's cast and crew were not looking to make “a big deal” about Johnston’s alleged blacklisting.
A spokesperson for Fox, as well as a spokesperson for Disney, the show’s distributor, declined to comment on the matter to the Daily Beast.
Johnston, who appeared on ‘Arrested Development’ and ‘Anchorman’, had voiced Pesto in 43 episodes over the course of the show's 11 seasons.
Although the actor never publicly confirmed his presence at the Capitol during the January riot, some people familiar with Johnston, including comedians Tim Heidecker and Kathy Griffin, as well as actress Cassandra Church, claimed Johnston was the rioter pictured on ‘photo 247’ from FBI’s wanted posters. The person in the photo is wearing a leather jacket and a camouflage neck gaiter.
In March, fact-checking website Snopes rated the claim that Johnston may have participated in the riot as “unproven.”
On January 6, a crowd of former president Donald Trump’s supporters broke through police barricades and briefly overran the Capitol compound, attempting to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 US presidential election. One rioter was fatally shot by police, and several people died on the Capitol premises from health emergencies.
Nearly 730 people have been arrested and charged with crimes for their role in the riot.