'Bob's Burgers' actor banned from voicing cartoon character over alleged Capitol riot involvement, report says

Jay Johnston, left, and his character Jimmy Pesto, right, in "Bob's Burgers" — Jay Johnston, left, and his character Jimmy Pesto, right, in "Bob's Burgers."
Getty Images, FOX via Getty Images

Jay Johnston has been banned from voicing Jimmy Pesto Sr. in "Bob's Burgers," per The Daily Beast.
It is alleged that the actor's ban follows unproven reports that he attended the Capitol riot.
Johnston's colleagues say he was in attendance, but he has not been arrested or charged with a crime.

An actor identified as attending the insurrection on January 6 has been "banned" from voicing a character in the animated TV show "Bob's Burgers," according to The Daily Beast.

Jay Johnston, who is the voice of Jimmy Pesto Sr. in the critically-acclaimed FOX show, has been noticeably absent from the 12th season of"Bob's Burgers."

And two sources told The Daily Beast that the actor wouldn't be returning to the show to voice the animated pizzeria owner.

One of the sources told the media outlet that the cast and crew of "Bob's Burgers" and Fox were not looking to make "a big deal" about the actor's blacklisting.

Fox did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

It has not been proven that Johnston, who also appeared in the movie "Anchorman," was present at the Capitol riot.

According to the fact-checking website Snopes, the origin of the allegation is a photograph posted by the FBI in March on social media of a person that looks like him.

A screenshot of a tweet by the FBI of a man that looks similar to Jay Johnston.
Twitter

Internet sleuths suggested it was Johnston, and Snopes reported that "Bob's Burgers" co-star Tim Heidecker said in a now-deleted tweet that it was "fully confirmed" through "reliable sources" that the FBI photo was of his colleague.

Two other actors, Spencer Crittenden and Cassandra Church, who appeared with Johnston in the 2014 documentary "Harmontown," posted messages saying that he had attended the rally and was a supporter of former President Donald Trump, Snopes said.

The person's identity in the photograph has not been confirmed, and Johnston has not been arrested or charged with any crime.

Johnston's management did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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