Jim Thornton Axed by ‘Wheel of Fortune’; Lawyer Denies Wrongdoing in Chat
Jim Thornton’s suspension from Wheel of Fortune has taken a permanent turn. The longstanding announcer has officially been fired from Sony Pictures Television days after it announced his suspension due to an unexplained incident. As further details of what transpired on an American Airlines flight hit mainstream media, Sony acted, axing Thornton ahead of the show’s season 44 premiere. His lawyer, however, insists he has done nothing illegal and believes the entire situation is one big misunderstanding.
What Happened on the Flight
Sony Pictures Television suspended Jim Thornton earlier this month, but the incident that prompted the investigation took place months earlier. According to a passenger who sounded the alarm on Thornton, she was on a May 14 flight with the announcer when she noticed his laptop was open to a chat room.
The passenger told TMZ that she saw inappropriate messages and content as Thornton engaged with the chat, and alerted a flight attendant. She snapped photos of the screen before the captain notified police. Police met the flight when it landed at LAX. According to several reports, they spoke with Jim Thornton, but released him without charges.
The photos, shared with several outlets, show Jim Thornton wearing a Wheel of Fortune jacket while viewing messages that appear to reference children in a sexual way. Timestamps across the images suggest Thornton was active in the chat room for at least an hour.
Jim Thornton’s lawyer says the ‘Wheel of Fortune’ announcer didn’t do anything unlawful
While Sony Pictures Television has taken a hard stance on Jim Thornton’s behavior, his lawyer, Allison Hart, alleges the entire situation has been a misunderstanding. In a chat with TMZ, Hart was adamant that her client has never viewed, downloaded, or possessed any child sexual abuse images.
She went on to claim that Thornton wandered into the chat room accidentally while looking for a suicide-prevention chat. Hart alleges the two rooms have similar names and that Thornton used a link provided by another user thinking it was a suicide helpline. She says he left the page as soon as he realized what it actually was and has not returned to it since.
Hart has also said that law enforcement’s interaction with Thornton after the flight landed lasted only a few minutes before he was told he was free to go, and that officers determined no crime had occurred.
While Hart claims Jim Thornton spent mere minutes in the chat before realizing he had followed an inappropriate link, the photos seem to suggest otherwise. Social media users have pointed out that the timestamps on the photos suggest the announcer spent much longer in the room than a few minutes.
Jim Thornton has not issued a personal statement at this time.
Who is Jim Thornton?
Jim Thornton, a longstanding Los Angeles radio and TV personality, is best known as the announcer for Wheel of Fortune. Thornton took over the job in 2010 after the death of Charlie O’Donnell. He became the show’s full-time, permanent voice in 2011. He remained in the role even after Pat Sajak left and the series was tweaked.
Thornton was in the middle of filming for season 44 of the longstanding game show when the allegations surfaced. He was removed immediately from his job, and reports suggest Sony is editing him out of any episodes that were filmed before it launched its investigation. A new announcer has not yet been named.
