It was all an accident. That is reportedly Wheel of Fortune announcer Jim Thornton’s explanation after he was suspended following a fellow airline passenger photographing him allegedly viewing a pedophile support forum.
As Breitbart News reported, the suspension relates to an alleged incident on an American Airlines flight back in May, according to TMZ, which first reported the news.
For its part, Sony Pictures Television did not provide a direct reason for the 61-year-old’s suspension from the show other than to confirm the allegations were being tested.
‘Wheel of Fortune’ announcer Jim Thornton was suspended reportedly after a fellow airline passenger photographed him looking at a pedophile support forum in what his legal counsel said was all ‘an accident.’ (Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images)
Now it appears a fellow passenger on the May 14 American Airlines flight 1276 from Charlotte, N.C., to Los Angeles, photographed him looking at what appeared to be a support forum for pedophiles, fresh reports from Page Six and TMZ indicate.
The passenger informed airline staff and showed them photos taken of Thornton’s screen, which TMZ published.
The conversation reportedly included a mention of looking at children at a Golden Corral restaurant alongside the dangers of interacting with the same chat room while on a plane. When the flight landed law enforcement officials stepped up to question Thornton then let him go.
In a subsequent letter obtained by Page Six, Thornton’s attorney, Allison Hart, stated her client had visited the site entirely by accident.
The TV star accidentally opened the link which was sent to him by someone else, she wrote:
My client has become active in suicide-prevention advocacy since losing a close family member to suicide two years ago, and he has spent time visiting chat rooms offering support to individuals suffering from suicidal ideation.
One of the sites my client has visited is 988lifeline.org, and its chat forum chat.988lifeline.org. Through an acquaintance in the suicide prevention space, my client was misdirected to a forum with a similar URL, the forum lifeline.chat, which my client understood to be a forum offering suicide prevention support similar to 988lifeline.org and chat.988lifeline.org
Hart maintained Thornton’s innocence, saying he was not aware the site he accidently landed on works with people who have thoughts about pedophilia and added he was not arrested or charged with a crime.
The sexagenarian was let “free to go” about his business.
“Law enforcement immediately confirmed that no crime had occurred and immediately told my client he was free to go,” Hart wrote. “In short, my client did nothing wrong.”
Jim Thornton became announcer of Wheel of Fortune in September 2011. He auditioned for the role in December 2010 after previous announcer Charlie O’Donnell’s death and was confirmed as the show’s new announcer on June 13, 2011.