King of the Hill voice actor Jonathan Joss has died aged 59 after a shooting in Texas, police have confirmed.
Joss was the voice of John Redcorn for seasons two through 13 of the popular animated series. He had reportedly recorded bits for the show’s reboot, which recently began production for Hulu and is slated to premiere in August.
The actor was reportedly shot multiple times over the weekend after a disagreement with a neighbor, according to TMZ. San Antonio police responded to a home after reports of shots fired and found Joss near the road with gunshot wounds, according to Variety.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
I really despise the usage of ‘Argument’ here in the title. It does not do the situation justice. As far as i’m aware this wasn’t an Argument. it was entirely one sided. The perpetrator just walked up and started being homophobic before shooting him. It was a murder and to call it anything less is just being dishonest.
This was after someone set his house on fire, which killed his 3 dogs. And then someone took one of the skulls and a leash and set it up where they’d be seen. So when Joss and his husband came back and were mourning, THEN his neighbor came out and started shouting slurs at them while waiving a fun around.
But no this was an argument between two equally at fault rational people. Definitely not a homophobic hate crime on the first day of pride month.
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From what I can tell, this region is notorious for gangstalking, especially against gay men. Many of these reports could likely be falsified to justify the idea of killing him.
I don’t see any inconsistency about the fire if the article itself says that the cause is under investigation. Joss believed it’s possible he made a mistake, but it seems more likely to be caused by the same people that threatened arson, and possibly the same people that murdered him.
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Thank you for this write up. I had been trying to put this into words for the past couple of days myself.
Additionally, Jonathan had shown up at a king of the hill panel he wasn’t part of and tried to speak, then was setting up a shoe shine booth outside of the venue? While in Austin he also did a podcast in which he was clearly inebriated and then was asking for rides home on Facebook.
While none of this excuses someone murdering him in any way, all of these things together definitely give me pause and lead me to not necessarily taking the husbands post at face value. I have addicts in my family and it just seems too familiar.
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you should probably grow up
No thanks.
deftly avoiding the point
So why mention smollett, then?
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Oh damn, im so owned. You owned me so bad.
Probably perpetrated by some dumb straight Christians.
But the reporting on this will focus more on the fact that the victim was ingenious and/or gay, than what’s going on with the shooter.
But we get headlines like “trans person sentenced to (insert punishment) for (insert random crime)” or something similar whenever anyone from the LGBTQ+ community acts out.
You’ll never see “straight man shoots a person because the shooter was a dick” or anything similar.
Fucking double standards.
That’s a weird spelling of “hate-crime”.
It’s not a hate crime if he’s just beefing with his neighbor.
If his neighbor shot him just for being native and no other reason then it would be a hate crime.
Having said that his neighbor really hated him.
He was openly gay. His home had been burned down. His pet had been killed and put on display. Pretty easy to hop over to hate crime with that info.
They did that to him?!
Did you even read the story?
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If the house did not have power, do you think the neighbors would notice that their house was never lit up at night?
If you think they noticed, how difficult would it be for someone to go in, turn on the propane and leave?
Joss said he left the house to go eat earlier on Thursday and thought he had turned everything off. He said he had been using a propane heater in the home for warmth. “Mistakes happen, man. And it’s my fault for, I guess, leaving something on,” Joss said. “Or if somebody came in and did something, who knows?”
He didn’t say he was the one who did it. He said it basically doesn’t matter because his dogs were dead, and that’s really what he cared about.
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You are calling people out about assumptions, and saying Joss was “acting erratically” and I would like to point out that you don’t know that his “erratic” behaviour wasn’t in response to anything, nor who may have incited him to act that way.
Just because he didn’t point the finger at someone for one crime or another, doesn’t mean he did it either. He may have been covering for someone to either save face or avoid escalation.
I’m not saying I know either, and that’s my point. You see some reports and news stories and you’ve drawn conclusions and made assumptions based on that without really knowing if any of the assumptions you made are correct.
The only person who really knew is dead now, at the hands of someone who clearly had issues getting along with him.
This argument is stupid. They might not know but neither do you.
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This is something mentally ill people do. Racism alone doesn’t account for mounting their dead dogs heads, burning down their home and then killing them.
How FUCKED UP in the head do you have to be to do something like this.
What the actual FUCK.
You can find stupid people in every part of the world. Allowing every idiot to have a firearm is only possible in a country that is run by gun dealers.
And then they say “GuNs DoN’t KilLPeOpLe”.
It’s true you can kill people without a gun, just as you can pound a nail into a wall without a hammer. But it’s a lot harder.
The wiki article on his death says that the San Antonio PD is saying that there was no evidence of hate crime up to that point, but if this was ongoing for literal years over 300+ incidents, i find that hard to believe. They need an outside-led investigation into that county PD.
Is it sad that my first suspicion is that it simply doesn’t meet the local legal definition of a hate crime because the laws are probably written to protect white people only?
Actually that was one of the few wins in the civil rights movement. But there are always forces who will use it against us.
You still need a PD willing to gather, keep secure and submit evidence that portrays it as a hate crime. The detectives and LEO’s involved may be hiding statements, motives, physical evidence, etc, by simply not recording it as such.
argument? the dude was being threated for MONTHS.
I got a three day ban on Reddit after saying something about ‘human blenderizing’ the dude who did this.
It’s not even a real word, nor even an actual real object. I fucking hate Reddit. I wish Lemmy had more traffic.
RIP 🪦 We will miss you.
This post has ~800 upvotes and ~150 comments. Lemme is doing great. It would be nice if the smaller communities were bigger, but there was a point on Reddit probably around 2015ish where it became too many people. I am enjoying this way more. Making a comment doesn’t feel like shouting into a crowd of shouting people the way that Reddit does. There is actual conversation.
It’s doing “great” but there is a massive gap in diversity and breadth of topics/subs here unfortunately. Obviously it gets better over time in theory but right now the majority of content exists over there… sadly.
Feeling this now in full force.
Finally received my permanent ban from Reddit. I have still been using Lemmy for a while now but, unfortunately, only once a week (main account is slrpnk but that instance is down right now so on the alt) cause the amount of content is easily gone through unless I just want to browse All, which majority is stuff there is topics I couldn’t care less about, and the engagement is incredibly slim compared to the political and current events posts.
It’s rough cause a lot of the communities I interacted with just do not exist on the fediverse.
Lemmy has plenty. It needs some polish but I’ve never looked back after the day I got rid of Reddit.
Just for suggesting someone make a 3d model? Harsh
Guess how they make pet food? Industrial blenders you can toss a horse into.
Reddit indeed is pure shit.
You read the part about the dog’s skull, and well, you hope that the blenderizing happens slowly.
Next time try frog in a blender.
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Sorry you got censored.
I don’t like your comment, but you should be allowed to say it.
Giving some attention to some sources that worded it better
‘King Of The Hill’ Star Shot Dead In Homophobic Attack, Partner Says
https://patch.com/california/los-angeles/king-kill-star-shot-dead-homophobic-attack-partner-says‘King of the Hill’ Actor Killed
Husband Claims Homophobia Fueled Shooting Murder
https://www.tmz.com/2025/06/02/jonathan-joss-husband-tristan-kern-de-gonzales-shooting-statement/Husband of slain ‘King of the Hill’ actor Jonathan Joss says neighbor was homophobic
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/06/02/jonathan-joss-king-of-the-hill-shot-killed-neighbor/“He was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men living each other,” Gonzales wrote in a Facebook post. “I was with him when he passed. I told him how much he was loved.”
God damn :(
Title is a lie. He was shot for crying over his dead dogs skull being placed near the mailbox of the recently burned down home they moved out of and shot by one of the homophobes who threatned to burn down said house who was also screaming slurs at him, while pushing his husband out of the path of the gun, saving his life. This was ALL preventable but the police force there allowed it to happen despite multiple years of reports.
I bet you a million dollars the murderer believes himself a good Christian.
No one is going to bet against you. Those are negative odds.
I feel bad for any progressives living in conservative neighborhoods (street city or state)
I feel bad for any progressives living in conservative neighborhoods (street city or state)
The entire country is either right wing or insane far right wing… where else are people supposed to go to live in peace from these insane fascist freaks?
He was shot for crying over his dead dogs skull being placed near the mailbox of the recently burned down home they moved out of and shot by one of the homophobes
Seriously… fuck the US, fuck that country, fuck it.
I hate that I’m going to be visiting the US for an MRI soon (I didn’t want to wait up to 9+ months, sadly). It’s only 20 minutes away from the border but it’s still too far into USA. Damn it all.
If I lived in America and was LGBTQ I’d be buying a gun right now, and this comes from someone who has always been anti-gun
That’s what I’m telling all my LGBTQ friends in the US who are not at risk of suicide. You can’t afford to be neutral in an arms race, especially when the enforcers of possible gun bans are all buddies with the people that shouldn’t have guns.
If i lived in america i’d sell my gun to get out of that shithole as soon as possible.
Almost everyone I know is broke. No country takes broke people. I could leave any day if I’m only willing to abandon everyone who cares about me
This is by design, too. Disenfranchise the minority and then keep pretending society is meritocratic and then “if they really wanted to survive or escape they would have made more money.”
You overestimate how much guns cost here. You’re not even renting a U-Haul with that.
I mean I agree with the first part of your statement. He is greatly overestimating the cost of a gun. But a decent piece will cost you 300-500 bucks. Uhauls are 70 bucks a day?
This is what my LGBTQ neighbors are actually doing.
I’m staying, not because I want to - but because I have a lot of friends and family who can’t afford to, and if push comes to shove, my savings are going towards helping them get out too.
A gun doesn’t save you if you don’t know they have one until they shoot first.
At this point it’s safe to assume every homophobe is armed and react accordingly.
The homophobe was coming right for us. I feared for my life. It was self defense.
But then they’ll just make defending yourself against armed violent and threatening homophobes a hate crime.
Frankly I don’t think it would matter at that point since they’ll hate us for no reason no matter how well we behave. Altho, I may or may not have been a little too angry when I made that comment, because after all guns aren’t the only means of defense and I don’t think I want people to have the guilt of killing someone over them, even if it was in self-defense.
This was ALL preventable but the police force there allowed it to happen despite multiple years of reports.
Statement from Tristan Kern de Gonzales
Husband of Jonathan JossMy 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.
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.
Jonathan and I had no weapons. We were not threatening anyone. We were grieving. We were standing side by side. When the man fired Jonathan pushed me out of the way. He saved my life.Jonathan is my husband. He gave me more love in our time together than most people ever get. We were newlyweds. We picked Valentines Day. We were in the process of looking for a trailer and planning our future.
He was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men loving each other.
I was with him when he passed. I told him how much he was loved.To everyone who supported him, his fans, his friends, know that he valued you deeply. He saw you as family.
My focus now is on protecting Jonathan’s legacy and honoring the life we built together.
If your concern is how someone coped with trauma or how loudly they speak when recounting injustice and being ignored by authorities then you never truly cared about my husband.
Jonathan saved my life. I will carry that forward. I will protect what he built.
- Tristan Kern de Gonzales
From Jonathan Joss’s Facebook post
The article title is really fucked up for making it seem like it was both sides arguing and it boiling over.
That’s what they do. Our media absolutely covers for hate crimes right now.
I sent an email to their complaint department about the headline. Not likely to do anything, but I’ll still be annoying.
Posted this. Thanks for the idea!
Shame on your organization.
You ran an article titled “King of the Hill actor Jonathan Joss fatally shot in Texas after argument with neighbor” and just conveniently left out the fact that there was no argument, just an active hate crime. You failed to mention the years of police reports, the context of the situation, or the open letter penned by his husband who was there, witnessed the murder, and heard the man yelling homophobic slurs as he shot at two completely unarmed non threatening men on their own property.
Organizations like yours protect the shit police forces, the bigots, the lowlives of our society. Decisions like this show where you stand. You’re cowards; cowards protect other cowards.
Disgusting.
Pathetic.
Shameful.
I hope you actually ponder this one for a second. I know you won’t, but got dang, find a moral or two. Y’all suck. This man deserved better; we deserve better. Even you deserve better.
Link to the complaint line?
I’ll be sending this same message to them
I wish I had thought of doing that, thanks! I will join you.
Lemmy is “our” media. Mainstream media is owned by the 1%. It is heavily censored.
Corporate media is just misinformation and propaganda.
What a tragic story. Hope that fucking loser gets jailed for murder. There have to be consequences for behavior like this
That is genuinely fucking horrifying.
Omg… this is so horrible. 😢
WTF is wrong with people!
They’re Republican.
They’re uneducated and are unable to process empathy, while also being fed a torrent of hateful propaganda
Or like the other guy said, they’re Republican
It’s not that they can’t process empathy. It’s that they’re told that empathy makes them weak and unmanly and that if they start to “feel” they need to start smashing shit.
Or like the other guy said, they’re Republican
Rethuglikkklans
But you repeat yourself.
What’s wrong is that some people have decided that they’re at war with the rest of us.
Religion plays a big part.
Conservative culture creates objectively worse human beings.
ACAB.
Fuck the police
His name is written like 10 times across the article, how could you still misspell it…
Thanks, homie. Fixed it for you. I think I let autocorrect get the best of me.
His name is written like 10 times across the article, how could you still misspell it…
His name is written like 10 times across the article, how could you still misspell it…
His death was so brutal. I hope people in San Antonio schedule a pride march in the voice actors neighborhood.
Also, I really think there should be a neighborhood watch or civilian guard force where lgtbq populace can ask for help or support when they’re being harassed. Like a civilian neighborhood watch app.
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There was no argument, he was crying at the display of his dogs skull the murderer made before he pulled up and shot him in cold blood.
Not to mention instigated for years and gangstalked from the sound of it until he mentally broke down. Something beyond jail deserves to happen to the people responsible.
According to his husband’s posts on social media, these neighbors had subjected them to homophobic harassment and threats to burn down their home before now. And when they returned to find the skull of their dog out in plain view and started to cry, the neighbor came and killed Jonathan. His husband said he blocked the shot and saved his life.
What do you fucking do about a community like that? These people don’t exist in isolation. It’s scary as fuck and a heartbreaking way to start pride month.
and yet I have people telling me I’m overreacting when I say we’re sleepwalking into the next holocaust in this country, only instead of Jews it will be hispanics, trans people, gay people, and autistic people made out to be subhumans to be purged.
The Nazis didn’t start with gas chambers, first they had to rile the population up to hate Jews all on their own – or to regard the disabled as “parasites”. Meanwhile in the present, we have politicians calling gay and trans people “groomers” and brainworms jackass calling autistic people, essentially, hopeless.
get ready, this sort of thing is only going to get more common. And if it doesn’t happen quickly enough, it’s entirely likely the
brownshirtsMAGAts will “help it along”.Pretty sure it started with trans and gay folks last time too.
eh, sorta. the books the Nazis burned in that famous photograph were the library of Magnus Hirschfeld, a Jewish sexologist who studied and supported trans people, and who even hired some as his assistants. did the Nazis burn his books because he supported trans people, or because he was a Jew? both, I think. the Nazis practiced intersectional hatred. they accused Hirschfeld of promoting degeneracy to undermine Aryan society, an anti-Semitic trope that continues today.
gay and trans people were sent to concentration camps, but not usually to the death camps.
likewise, the predecessor to the NSDAP specifically singled out Jews in its founding document, but (afaik) not homosexuals.
this is my recollection anyway, as a trans woman who’s a potential convert.
There’s also Ernst Rohm and (full disclosure I can’t remember names or where I read this but I’m positive I did) several other members of the Nazi party having “proclivities” that were turned a blind eye as long as they continued to be good little Nazis (and, eventually, Rohm wasn’t useful any longer – but his murder had little to do with him being gay). Indeed, much like Hitler and Rohm, I’m sure Trump himself doesnt hold much ill will towards gay people overall on account of Roy Cohn (granted he holds ill will towards everyone poor but that’s a different conversation). It’s all the other people in his orbit that scare the fuck out of me as a gay guy.
Trump certainly has no problem with people who cross-dress. If you haven’t already, search teh intarwebs for “Trump Giuliani drag”. It’s a real thing.
Nazis suck.
There is a powerful key difference nowadays, two if you broke it down into its component parts:
-
Information is much, MUCH easier to come by and because of that while hate and intolerance continues to be widespread you also see a larger number of at least partially informed people on average.
-
Hitler got most of Germany to at least openly state they were on his side in some form. The U.S. is a rather large country and hugely diverse and growing more sharply outspoken by people who were once quiet, on both sides.
I also know that Trump doesn’t have the charisma of Hitler and we are not a Nation still reeling from the economic effects of a World War.
However, that is not to say this won’t get worse. It just won’t be a blanket with pockets of resistance. More likely entire States will stand, as many already are. I just hope we the people decide to unite and do what we must before it gets worse.
For your first point, I’d say while there is more information there’s also much more disinformation. I’m not sure which is winning, but I think it might not be the one we want.
If Trump isn’t the States’ Hitler then he’s the dress rehearsal.
We’re reeling a little from the effects of the tariffs. I suspect they are doing it on purpose. Make everyone desperate so they can’t afford to take of each other, hoping they’ll split
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There’s plenty of MAGA that would love the chance to murder people.
You need to learn to learn to utilize and love your 2nd amendment rights if you are a potential target.
Especially in a place where there are stand your ground laws or castle doctrines
This is horrific but now extraordinary. People, not just in Texas live in a constant state of anger and fear and snap at the slightest excuse.
Normal people killed by these assholes are not going to survive and take back their rights by being the bigger person, or having a discourse, or the truth. We are pass that. Get guns. Lots of them and learn to use them.
If this hating neighbor knew the couple had a Mosberg Shockwave behind the door he would have acted right. These fucking bullies are beyond reasoning. Stand up to them.
They had burned their home down already. This wasn’t an argument. They were confronted and cut down upon their return. No argument was occurring but that’s how it’s described in headlines.
This is what every news article about an assault or murder of a queer person used to be like in the 00s and earlier. Then after the local queer community spends ages protesting (if there was one, and who knows how many murders flew under the radar this way) maybe someone eventually gets a slap on the wrist charge.
Maybe they’ll update these stories soon, but it’s not a great sign when they’re not even discussing the husband’s account. (The other stories, not the one you linked)
There is a lot of history of violence against LGBTQ people that the media and police swept under the rug. Most famously the arson of the Upstairs Lounge which killed 32 people, the media covered it until they found out it was a gay bar then buried the story. The arson was unsolved despite having evidence and witnesses placing Robert Dale Nunez at the scene screaming “burn” minutes before the blaze.
Yeah, this really sounds like premeditation to me. Kill their dog and present the head and collar to lure them outside, then shoot both men dead. If it’s not clear premeditation I don’t know what is.
And now we get to see whether the Gay Panic defense works this time, I’m sure.
The “argument”:
“We would like to exist unmolested.”
“I disagree.”
Killing a guy because you don’t agree with who he loves is fucking disgusting.
Land of the free my ass.
'Cept pedos. The real pedos, not the ones these people call everyone that are not like them.
That’s by definition not love. Sexually abusing children, and all sexual stimulation or exposure from an adult to a minor is abuse, isn’t love. It also follows the same actions as rape often does, grooming and all, many adult abusers condition their victims before abuse. It has all the markers of abuse, and modern psychology says it’s outside normal human sexuality. It’s not a orientation, it’s not love, it’s not sex. It’s rape and abuse.
I agree, but from some from that group have said “love is love” bullshit.
Love is love between consenting adults. It’s not love if there’s no informed consent, and children are not informed by nature, so therefore, there is no situation between an adult and a child that could be consentual.
These are vastly different situations that you are trying to equate. Pedos are trying to use the same language as the LGBT community to be seen as socially accepted, but the difference is that the LGBT community strictly believes in consentual relationships.
Thanks for the reminder fren.
‘‘That group’’ please elaborate. Who is that group?
The nambla type sickos that know the age of consent laws for all states?
Killing someone who acknowledges their urges are fucked up, tries to get help, and has never sexually abused anyone is also disgusting. And fuck you too if you’re about to call me a pedo or a pedo applogist for having that belief. I stand by innocent until proven guilty.
The dude is nuts. He is fired up because he thinks LGBTQ is pro child sexual abuse. He doesn’t get the reality that early therapy is likely the strongest means of eliminating criminal harm against children.
I mean, everyone should be entitled to a trial for their crimes.
You don’t need a trial for a crime that never happened though. Thoughts are not crimes.
I think that’s what the gp comment tried to say but phrased it wrongly. Maybe.
You’d never bring that up if we were talking about a straight person getting murdered.
Its from the right winger perspective of everything not straight is a groomer pedo. Hopefully this piece of shit spends forever in jail.
The problem with that thinking is it validates other people thinking that way for others they don’t like
No matter how bad the crime, even though it may be absolutely vile, death is never the answer. Plus, solitary confinement is worse anyway
Fair enough.
gary plauche did nothing wrong, perhaps save for getting caught.
If you happen to be in a minority that is targeted by american conservatives, you take it as a sign that it’s time to arm yourselves.
What do you fucking do about a community like that?
Fucking hell. What can anyone even do if the police and local media is pretty much in on it. He was basically lynched.
The idea of this being argument lays the foundation for a stand your ground defence for the murderer, one would assume.
The homophobic murder is absolutely horrific, but there is something about the dog skull that says “this is a next level psycho.”
Nah, that’s premeditation IMO. The dog skull provides provocation to draw both men into the open, giving you a clear line to fire.
This sure sounds like second degree murder to me.
it takes a psychopath to leave a dog’s skull in clear view as a lure to kill someone.
No hate like Christian love.
So you’re saying a Trump pardon is in the pipeline?
Abbott, not trump, but yes I wouldn’t be surprised. He’s pardoned murderers who agree with him before
What do you fucking do about a community like that?
http://www.fox4news.com/news/neighborhood-rallies-after-carrollton-couples-gay-pride-flag-burned.amp
Organize. Stand up. Show yourself. Make them be the ones on the outside.
Train.
What do you fucking do about a community like that
I’m not allowed to tell you directly on .world, but turnabout is fair play.
What do you fucking do about a community like that?
Cops doing nothing like always is just going to force vigilantism. I don’t get how they’re too stupid to see that.
And then they can legally paint us as criminals. That’s kinda their plan, I don’t get how you don’t see that.
Too bad there had to be an argument or disagreement…
…about whether the victim(s) crying over their dead dog in front of their burned down house deserved to live?
I wonder what the chances are that the fire, the dog skull, and the murder were all the same shithead.
I wonder what the chances are that the fire, the dog skull, and the murder were all the same shithead.
Very high. And he’s probably buddies with the homophobic cops who dismissed years of reports of the threats to do those three things. And the same cops who have already “determined” that there was no hate crime.
Although I don’t think those cops have realized yet that he was on other popular shows like Parks and Rec as well. And famous people are speaking out. Meaning there will be a lot more scrutiny and they can’t just shrug and sweep it under the rug this time.
Some of those who burn crosses, hold office.
I hate this stupid fucking bigoted ass country.
And some of those who burn crosses, are the same that work forces.
Joss was a gay native man. Hell I could stop at native and the cops would already be looking to do anything other than help.
I’m now seeing firsthand why folks across the pond keep making snarky comments about The Independent being a Tory tag…
