Wheel of Fortune host Jim Thornton, 61, was suspended from the popular game show Tuesday as Sony Pictures Television investigates allegations concerning him.
Now, photos obtained by TMZ reportedly show Thornton viewing a chatroom that appeared to contain discussions involving pedophilia and children during a May flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Los Angeles.
The shocking allegations were first brought to light after a fellow passenger reportedly noticed Thornton’s laptop screen during the flight.
According to TMZ, the passenger told the outlet she could see disturbing messages and images on the screen and believed the chatroom was being used by people discussing sexual interest in children. She photographed what she saw and alerted a flight attendant.
The pilot subsequently contacted authorities, and law enforcement met the plane when it arrived at Los Angeles International Airport, according to reports.
American Airlines confirmed that Flight 1276 was met by law enforcement after landing May 14 “following concerns reported by a customer onboard.”
The airline did not identify Thornton or disclose the nature of the complaint.
Thornton was questioned by authorities and released.
He was not arrested, and he has not been charged with a crime.
But the situation has now become considerably more serious from a public relations standpoint.
TMZ reported Thursday that photographs taken by the passenger appear to show Thornton on a website described as a forum for people experiencing pedophilic thoughts.
Some of the messages visible in the photographs reportedly contain disturbing references to children.
One message allegedly referred to “cute boys” and a “little girl,” while another appeared to reference a location associated with underage children. Another reportedly used the abbreviation “CP,” which the passenger interpreted as a reference to child sexual abuse material.
Those allegations, however disturbing, have not resulted in criminal charges against Thornton.
And Thornton’s attorney, Allison Hart, is adamantly denying that he engaged in illegal activity.
Hart told TMZ that Thornton has been involved in suicide prevention advocacy since losing a close family member to suicide and had spent time visiting online chatrooms intended to help people struggling with suicidal thoughts.
According to his attorney, Thornton regularly used the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website and its associated chat forum. She said an acquaintance in the suicide-prevention community sent him a link to lifeline.chat, which Thornton allegedly believed was another suicide-prevention resource because of the similar name.
Hart maintains that Thornton left the website after realizing what it was.
There is, however, a dispute over how long he remained on the site.
Timestamps visible in the photographs appear to span at least 57 minutes. Hart nevertheless insisted that Thornton never viewed, downloaded, or consumed illegal child sexual abuse material. She also said the website itself did not contain unlawful material.
“In short, my client did nothing wrong,” Hart said.
That defense will presumably be a central part of the investigation now underway.
Sony Pictures Television has not publicly detailed the allegations against Thornton. The studio previously said only that it had become aware of allegations concerning him and that he had been suspended while the company conducts a “thorough investigation.”
The studio is also recasting the announcer role.
Thornton has been the familiar voice of “Wheel of Fortune” since 2011, when he succeeded longtime announcer Charlie O’Donnell following O’Donnell’s death.
He became part of the fabric of a program watched by generations of Americans, working alongside hosts including Pat Sajak and, more recently, Ryan Seacrest.
That makes the allegations particularly jarring.
For now, the distinction between allegations and proven wrongdoing remains critical.
Thornton has not been charged with a crime, and his attorney said authorities determined after questioning him that no crime had occurred. Sony, meanwhile, has apparently determined that the allegations are serious enough to warrant removing him from the show while its investigation continues.
The full truth of what happened aboard that May flight remains to be established.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
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