Here's Why People Are Raising Their Eyebrows Over Chris Pratt's Post About The Fatal Shooting Of His 'Parks And Recreation' Costar Jonathan Joss
Jonathan's husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, claimed in a social media statement that the actor was killed in an anti-gay, targeted attack. He wrote, 'My husband Jonathan Joss and I were involved in a shooting while checking the mail at the site of our former home. That home was burned down after over two years of threats from people in the area who repeatedly told us they would set it on fire. We reported these threats to law enforcement multiple times and nothing was done.'
'Throughout that time we were harassed regularly by individuals who made it clear they did not accept our relationship. Much of the harassment was openly homophobic,' Tristan alleged. 'When we returned to the site to check our mail we discovered the skull of one of our dogs and its harness placed in clear view. This caused both of us severe emotional distress. We began yelling and crying in response to the pain of what we saw. While we were doing this a man approached us. He started yelling violent homophobic slurs at us. He then raised a gun from his lap and fired.'
While tributes have poured in for the King of the Hill voice actor, his former Parks and Recreation costar Chris Pratt shared some words of his own this week.
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Jonathan famously played Chief Ken Hotate on the fan-favorite sitcom, while Chris starred as Andy Dwyer.
In an Instagram story that has since expired, Chris shared a screenshot of a news headline about Jonathan's killing and wrote, 'Damn. RIP Jonathan. Always such a kind dude. He played Ken Hotate in Parks and was also in Mag 7. Sad to see. Prayers up. Hug your loved ones.'
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Reacting to Chris's tribute, several internet users admitted that they found his wording 'really weird' and 'poorly written.'
'This is a really weird tribute in response to his death,' one person said. 'This is such a poorly written statement. I know that Pratt likely wasn't close with Jonathan, nor is he expected to be -- but no statement is honestly better than this. It sounds so callous,' someone else agreed.
'Honestly just using full sentences would have made this sound more sincere even if they weren't close. Minimal effort. Also wth does 'prayers up' even mean,' one user wrote, while another echoed, 'He couldn't even be bothered with a full sentence, how classy.'
'It's so terse and weirdly written. Like, read it aloud. It's robotic,' someone said, while another wrote, 'This is so dismissive that it feels disrespectful. He should've said nothing tbh.'
One more person added, 'It might have been better to say nothing at all Chris. This death is so tragic and upsetting and Johnathan deserved a better tribute then 'damn. RIP.''
Some users took issue with the fact that Chris made no mention of the nature of Jonathan's murder, comparing his statement to a moving statement shared by actor Cynthia Nixon.
'Was devastated to learn of the killing last night of the wonderfully talented actor and musician Jonathan Joss, who my family and I enjoyed so much in Parks and Recreation. He and his husband had been repeatedly harassed and worse by homophobic neighbors who recently burned their house to the ground. The men were collecting mail at their old address when a former neighbor came at them shouting homophobic hate and shot Jonathan to death,' Cynthia wrote. 'His husband says he would also have been shot had Jonathan not pushed him out of the way. The San Antonio police force is saying there is 'no evidence' that this was a hate crime. We will not let this stand.'
"King Of The Hill" Voice Actor Jonathan Joss Was Killed In A Homophobic Hate Crime, Husband SaysKelby Vera · June 2, 2025
Chris Pratt Has Responded After Ellen Page Criticised Him For Supporting An "Anti LGBTQ" ChurchBen Henry · Feb. 12, 2019
Here's Why Chris Pratt Got So Much Backlash On The Internet This WeekendEhis Osifo · Oct. 21, 2020
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