Jim Thornton, the announcer for the game show "Wheel of Fortune," has been fired by Sony Pictures Television following an investigation into an incident that occurred on an American Airlines flight in May. The company announced his termination Friday, four days after he was initially suspended.
Photos obtained by the Daily Mail allegedly show Thornton, 61, visiting a chatroom described as having "pedophilia" content while on board a flight. A fellow passenger reportedly witnessed the activity and alerted a flight attendant, who instructed Thornton to close his laptop.
According to the passenger, Thornton appeared anxious after being told to close his device. Photos subsequently surfaced showing Thornton using Google AI on his phone, with a partially visible AI response referencing chatroom privacy. The chatroom messages visible in the photos included phrases like "a nice hangout for kids" and "couple of cute boys and a hot little girl," as well as "All-you-can-eat Boyffet" and a reference to "CP," which the passenger believed to stand for "child pornography."
Thornton's attorney, Allison Hart, told TMZ that the announcer clicked on the site by mistake and that his presence in the chatroom was unintended. Hart stated that Thornton had become involved in suicide-prevention advocacy after losing a family member to suicide two years prior and frequently visited chat rooms that offer support to individuals experiencing suicidal ideation. She explained that Thornton claims an acquaintance from the suicide prevention group sent him a link to a different chatroom, lifeline.chat, which is intended for individuals experiencing pedophilic thoughts. Thornton asserts he left the chatroom upon realizing its nature.
Hart further claimed that the website visited is "not unlawful" and does not contain "unlawful child pornography or other pedophilic content." She maintained that her client "never viewed, downloaded or consumed any child pornography whether on that commercial flight in May or at any other time." According to the attorney, Thornton "did not engage in any illegal conduct, was not arrested, and has not been charged with any crime." She also stated that law enforcement questioned Thornton briefly upon landing in Los Angeles, determined no wrongdoing had occurred, and allowed him to leave.
American Airlines confirmed that law enforcement met Flight 1276 in Los Angeles on May 14 following concerns reported by a customer. The pilot had arranged for officers to meet Thornton at the gate, where he was questioned before being released.
Thornton, who began as the "Wheel of Fortune" announcer in 2011, replacing Charlie O'Donnell, has had his name and photos removed from the show's social media channels. His Facebook account, previously public and featuring behind-the-scenes content, was made inaccessible shortly after his termination.
In addition to his role on "Wheel of Fortune," Thornton has worked as a voice actor on projects such as Disney-Pixar's "Monsters, Inc." and the video game adaptation of "Wall-E." He also had a brief stint as an announcer on "The Price Is Right" in 2004 and is known for his work on "The Cleveland Show" and "Celebrity Deathmatch."