Bob Burgers’ Finally Axes Jimmy Pesto Actor For His Attendance On Jan. 6th
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Bob’s Burgers finally took action against a comic actor that other comedians have been whispering about for months, canning Jay (Jimmy Pesto Sr.) Johnston for his alleged participation in last January’s rally at the U.S. Capitol. The character also allegedly made lousy pizza.
The reported involvement of Johnston, previously beloved in comedy nerd circles for his hilarious work on Mr. Show, Anchorman, The Sarah Silverman Show, and Arrested Development, has been something of an open secret since the FBI posted this picture last March.
It didn’t take long for comedy fans to note the resemblance between the guy in the photos and the Bob’s Burgers voice actor. The most common refrain: It couldn’t be Jay Johnston, could it?
Cassandra Church, an actress who appeared with Johnston on the Harmontown podcast, was one of the first to unofficially confirm Johnston’s participation.
You can’t get much more damning than “He said he was there.”
Tim Heidecker also chimed in, tweeting that Johnston’s identity was “fully confirmed through reliable sources” and that “it’s Jay.” After the tweets took on a life of their own, Heidecker deleted them as he understandably did not want to be the official source on Johnston’s alleged involvement. The tweets, Heidecker explained, were only “a reply to someone who asked and shouldn’t be used as some kind of official source of information or verification.”
But you can’t get much more damning than “It’s Jay.”
And in yet another deleted social media post, actor and Harmontown funny guy Spencer Crittenden tweeted that Johnston “ was there at the time.”
Like Cassandra Church, we’re not detectives, but here’s another personal contact that says Johnston was there. And this was months ago! Do any of these people know how to contact tips.fbi.gov?
Johnston’s reported involvement didn’t exactly take the comedy community by surprise. He’s cracked wise on The Gavin McInnes Show, hosted by the founder of the Proud Boys. Rumor has it that group also had a presence at the January 6 mess.
Jimmy Pesto Sr. is not a minor Bob’s Burgers character. Bob’s obnoxious rival has appeared in 43 episodes over the past ten years, tempting away Bob’s customers with his slightly more upscale Jimmy Pesto’s Pizzeria. Factor in Tina’s crush on Jimmy Pesto Jr. and the Bob’s Burgers’ writing staff has a dilemma on its hands about what comes next.
As does the FBI, apparently? Between the pictures, first-hand accounts of Johnston admitting that he was at the rally, and employers firing him for his alleged involvement, it’s pretty clear who is in picture 247. Does he need to be holding an Oregano Burger?
No response yet from Fox, Disney, or Jay Johnston himself on the firing, although Fox has reportedly blacklisted Johnston from working on any of its productions.
Bob Belcher himself won’t have a problem if the show cuts the character permanently. After all, who wants to deal with “stupid Jimmy Pesto, with his crappy food and all his customers?”
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Top image: Fox Television Animation
