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Actor Jay Johnston, who is known for his roles in Better Call Saul, Arrested Development, Anchorman, and voice roles in hit shows such as Rick and Morty, will no longer be voicing Jimmy Pesto Sr. in Fox‘s Bob’s Burgers after allegedly participating in the January 6th Capitol riot.
According to the Daily Beast, two top staff members of the beloved animated Fox series said the 53-year-old is “banned” from his recurring voice role.
Johnston has voiced the hilariously obnoxious character, who is Bob’s nemesis and owner of Jimmy Pesto’s Pizzeria on the show, for a total of 43 episodes from 2011 to 2021.
Pesto last appeared in the Season 11 episode “The Bridge Over Troubled Rudy,” which aired in May 2021, and has not appeared in an episode since.
While the actor himself has not confirmed his appearance or role in the riot, Twitter users began suspecting he might be participant number 247 following a March 2021 FBI request to identify the individual.
Cassandra Church, an actor who previously worked alongside Johnston, tweeted at the time, “I’m no detective, but I do know Jay. He said he was there. And that’s him in the picture. So…”
In a since-deleted tweet, a former colleague of Johnston’s also wrote that the actor is a “craven Trump supporter and was there at the time.” Actor-comedian Tim Heidecker also tweeted that Johnston’s involvement in the riot was “fully confirmed through reliable sources,” though he later deleted it and said it “shouldn’t be used as some kind of official source of information or verification.”
Back in 2015, Johnston appeared as himself on The Gavin McInnes Show, which is hosted by the titular founder of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist hate group that was heavily involved in the riot.
As of right now, the actor hasn’t been charged or arrested for any crime.
Michael is a music and television junkie keen on most things that are not a complete and total bore. You can follow him on Twitter — @Tweetskoor
