Fans of King of the Hill weren’t very pleased with the tribute message written by the show’s creators to Jonathan Joss after his shocking murder.
The creators posted a tribute on Instagram
Jonathan Joss, 59, was gunned down outside his home in San Antonio, Texas, on Sunday, June 1. He voiced John Redcorn on King of the Hill.
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The show’s creators, Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, and the showrunner of its upcoming revival, Saladin Patterson, wrote a tribute message to the actor on Instagram.
The message was a short one
The trio wrote on Tuesday, June 3, “Rest in peace, Jonathan Joss.”
“Jonathan brought King of the Hill’s ‘John Redcorn’ to life for over a dozen seasons, including in the upcoming revival. His voice will be missed at King of the Hill,” they added, “and we extend our deepest condolences to Jonathan’s friends and family.”
Fans didn’t like the message
But fans weren’t exactly happy with the tribute, particularly because it was alleged that Joss was escorted out of a King of the Hill panel at the ATX TV Festival in Austin, Texas, only two days before his murder.
They felt the tribute was ‘pathetic’
One angry fan wrote, “You give a f**k now? He was just begging for help and y’all dismissed him.”
“You people should be ashamed,” wrote another. “I love the show, but I won’t be watching the revival. Why was he not invited to the panel? Why were his cries for help not taken seriously?”
People called out his dismissal from the panel
A third person added, “The fact that you guys dismissed him while he was trying to speak out for what has happened to him is really sad! You should be ashamed of yourselves.”
One commenter pointed out that being the victim of a hate crime, Joss deserved a stronger tribute. They wrote, “Y’all don’t have a backbone, do you? This was a hate crime. And you can’t even take a real stance and support his husband? How pathetic.”
Another fan also wrote, “This is the statement you make when someone dies of a heart attack, not a homophobic murder.”
Joss had said he was being targeted
The alleged incident where Joss was escorted out a panel at the ATX TV Festival happened on Friday, May 30.
At the panel, he shared that his home had burned down three months earlier, saying it was a targeted incident “because I’m gay.”
Witnesses told People that he was then escorted out of the venue. He was fatally shot in front of his home two days later.
The murderer admitted to the crime
Joss’ 56-year-old neighbor, Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez, was arrested and charged with felony first-degree murder.
He even admitted to the crime, as per the New York Post. But he was later released on $200K bail.
Joss’ husband claimed it was a hate crime
The actor’s husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, claimed that Joss’ murder was a homophobic hate crime.
Although investigators initially dismissed the claims, they have since backtracked, with San Antonio Police Chief William McManus telling reporters on Thursday, June 5, “We issued a statement the day after Jonathan Joss’s murder that was way, way, way premature. We shouldn’t have done it.”
