Wheel of Fortune announcer Jim Thornton has been suspended from the show and is being recast amid an investigation by Sony Pictures Television Studios. The suspension follows allegations that Thornton, 61, viewed an alleged "pedophilia" chatroom during an American Airlines flight in May.
Photos taken by a fellow passenger and obtained by TMZ show Thornton looking at a laptop screen displaying messages from a chatroom where participants discussed disturbing content. One message read, "All-you-can-eat Boyffet," and another mentioned "CP," which the passenger believed to be short for "child pornography." The timestamps suggest Thornton was in the chatroom for at least 57 minutes, while wearing a Wheel of Fortune jacket.
According to Thornton's lawyer, Allison Hart, he clicked on the site by mistake. Hart stated that Thornton has been active in suicide-prevention advocacy since losing a family member to suicide two years prior and has spent time visiting chat rooms offering support to individuals suffering from suicidal ideation. He reportedly frequents the suicide prevention website 988lifeline.org and its chat forum.
Hart claims Thornton was sent a link to a different chatroom, lifeline.chat, by an acquaintance from the suicide prevention group. This site is intended for individuals experiencing pedophilic thoughts. The lawyer asserted that Thornton left the chatroom upon realizing its nature and that the website "is not unlawful, there is no unlawful child pornography or other pedophilic content, and my client never viewed, downloaded or consumed any child pornography." She added that Thornton "did not engage in any illegal conduct, was not arrested, and has not been charged with any crime."
Hart also stated that law enforcement spoke to Thornton for a brief period after the flight, determined no wrongdoing had occurred, and told him he was free to go. American Airlines confirmed that Flight 1276 was met by law enforcement upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport on May 14 due to concerns reported by a customer onboard.
Sony Pictures Television Studios issued a statement: "We have recently been made aware of allegations concerning Jim Thornton. He has been suspended from Wheel of Fortune and we are recasting while we conduct a thorough investigation."
Thornton's tenure as announcer for Wheel of Fortune began in 2011, succeeding Charlie O'Donnell. He is rarely seen on the show, currently hosted by Vanna White and Ryan Seacrest. In addition to his announcer duties, Thornton is a voice actor with credits including Disney-Pixar's Monsters, Inc. and the video game adaptation of Wall-E, as well as voicing Johnny Gomez on MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch. He also had a brief stint as an announcer on The Price Is Right in 2004. Despite his suspension, Thornton appeared on a pre-taped episode of Wheel of Fortune that aired on Tuesday.