Wheel of Fortune announcer Jim Thornton has been suspended from the long-running game show after a fellow airline passenger allegedly spotted him browsing a disturbing online chatroom connected to people with pedophilic thoughts.
Thornton, 61, was reportedly photographed using the website lifeline.chat while aboard an American Airlines flight from Charlotte to Los Angeles on May 14.
The passenger became concerned after seeing messages appear on Thornton’s laptop and alerted the flight crew, according to TMZ.
By the time the plane landed at Los Angeles International Airport, law enforcement was waiting at the gate.
Thornton was questioned but was not arrested or charged with any crime.
Now, Sony Pictures Television Studios has suspended the veteran announcer while investigating what happened.
“We have recently been made aware of allegations concerning Jim Thornton,” Sony said in a statement. “He has been suspended from Wheel of Fortune and we are recasting while we conduct a thorough investigation.”
Thornton’s attorney, Allison Hart, strongly denies that her client engaged in any criminal wrongdoing.
Hart said Thornton had actually been trying to visit suicide-prevention websites and chatrooms after becoming involved in suicide-prevention advocacy following the death of a close family member two years ago.
According to his lawyer, Thornton intended to access resources similar to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline website but ended up on lifeline.chat instead.
Hart said Thornton left the chatroom after realizing what the site was about.
Photos reportedly taken during the flight, however, contain timestamps indicating the site may have been open on Thornton’s computer for at least 57 minutes.
Hart stressed that lifeline.chat itself is not an illegal website and said Thornton never viewed or downloaded child sexual abuse material.
“My client was never arrested or charged with a crime,” Hart said, adding that law enforcement questioned him for only a few minutes before allowing him to leave.
She said authorities determined that no crime had occurred.
The passenger who reported Thornton became alarmed after allegedly seeing a number of sexually explicit and disturbing messages in the chatroom.
According to published photos, some users discussed children while others made crude sexual comments about being aboard an airplane.
One message reportedly referred to “cute boys” and a “hot little girl,” while another referenced “CP,” an abbreviation the concerned passenger believed referred to child pornography.
There is no indication that Thornton wrote any of the messages.
American Airlines confirmed that authorities met Flight 1276 when it arrived at LAX on May 14 because of concerns raised by someone onboard.
The airline did not publicly identify Thornton or provide further details about the complaint.
The fallout has now reached Wheel of Fortune.
Thornton had already recorded roughly a month of episodes for the upcoming season, which is scheduled to premiere September 14.
Those episodes are now reportedly being re-edited to replace Thornton’s announcing, a process one source described to TMZ as a “major undertaking.”
Sony has confirmed that the announcer position is being recast while its investigation continues.
Thornton has been one of the most recognizable voices on Wheel of Fortune since joining the show in 2011 following the death of longtime announcer Charlie O’Donnell.
He has appeared on more than 2,000 episodes and remained with the show through Pat Sajak’s retirement and Ryan Seacrest’s arrival as host.
For now, however, Thornton’s future on one of television’s longest-running game shows remains uncertain as Sony investigates the shocking controversy surrounding the May flight.