Jim Thornton Seen in Chat Room for People With Pedophilic Thoughts Before ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Suspension

More information is coming out about why longtime Wheel of Fortune announcer Jim Thornton was suspended from the popular game show.

TMZ published photos on Thursday, September 3, that show the 61-year-old on an American Airlines flight in May from Charlotte to Los Angeles. In the pictures, Thornton can be seen in a chat room that appeared to discuss pedophilic thoughts.

According to the outlet, a passenger saw him in the chatroom with one message that allegedly read, “Couple of cute boys and a hot little girl,” and another that said, “All-you-can-eat Boyfett.”

One message also referenced “CP,” which could possibly stand for child pornography. While it is hard to tell what (if anything) Thornton was typing, he appeared to be in the chat for multiple messages. While Thornton claimed he promptly left, TMZ noted that timestamps appear to show he was there for at least 57 minutes.

TMZ reported that a passenger notified a flight attendant, and the matter was escalated to authorities, which is why Thornton was questioned at LAX before being released.

In a statement to Page Six, his attorney Allison Hart claimed he went to the website by mistake because he allegedly thought he was going to a suicide-prevention chatroom like 988lifeline.org.

“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,” she said.

“One of the sites my client has visited is 988lifeline.org, and its chat forum chat.988lifeline.org,” she continued. “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.”

According to Hart, Thornton didn’t know the website “lifeline.chat” allegedly offers mental health support to individuals with pedophilic thoughts.

“When my client understood what the website was about, he left the page and has not visited since,” she said. “The website lifeline.chat itself is not unlawful, there is no unlawful child pornography or other pedophilic content, and my client has never viewed, downloaded or consumed any child pornography, whether on that commercial flight in May or at any other time.”

“It is for that reason that my client was never arrested or charged with a crime,” she said. “Law enforcement immediately confirmed that no crime had occurred and immediately told my client he was free to go. In short, my client did nothing wrong.”

As Closer reported, TMZ sources familiar with the situation said early episodes from the upcoming Wheel of Fortune season (which will premiere Monday, September 14) are being edited with a new announcer.

Sony Pictures Television is currently investigating claims against him, and he was suspended from the game show. Sony Pictures Television Studios told TMZ in a statement that they “are recasting.”