Jim Thornton, the longtime announcer for “Wheel of Fortune,” has been suspended from the program after an alleged incident involving a pedophilia-related chatroom during an American Airlines flight in May.

The incident reportedly occurred May 14 on a flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Los Angeles. A fellow passenger allegedly noticed Thornton’s laptop screen and photographed what appeared to be conversations from a chatroom for people with pedophilic thoughts. The passenger reported the matter to flight attendants, and law enforcement officers met Thornton after the plane arrived at Los Angeles International Airport.

According to reports, officers questioned Thornton for several minutes before releasing him. Thornton was not arrested and has not been charged with a crime.

Thornton’s attorney, Allison Hart, has strongly denied that her client engaged in illegal activity. Hart said Thornton had become involved in suicide-prevention advocacy following the death of a family member and had visited online forums intended to support people experiencing suicidal thoughts.

According to his attorney, Thornton was directed to a website called lifeline.chat after confusing it with the legitimate 988 Lifeline suicide-prevention service and did not initially understand the nature of the site. Hart said Thornton left after realizing what the website was and has never viewed, downloaded, or consumed child pornography. She also said the website itself did not contain illegal child pornography.

Photos obtained by TMZ reportedly show Thornton on the site for an extended period, with timestamps indicating he may have remained in the chatroom for approximately 57 minutes. The images prompted renewed scrutiny of the incident and led Sony to take action while investigating the circumstances.

Sony Pictures Television confirmed that Thornton has been suspended and that the announcer role is being recast while the company conducts a “thorough investigation.” The studio has not publicly announced a final finding regarding the allegations.

Thornton has served as the announcer for “Wheel of Fortune” since 2011, following the death of longtime announcer Charlie O’Donnell. He continued in the role after Ryan Seacrest became host alongside Vanna White in 2024.

The investigation remains ongoing, and Thornton has not been criminally charged in connection with the May incident.