Jim Thornton, finest generally known as the announcer of Wheel of Fortune, has been suspended from the hit sport present. In response to Hollywood insider Rob Shuter, host Ryan Seacrest has little interest in getting concerned.
“Ryan doesn’t do drama — particularly anyone else’s,” a TV insider instructed Naughty However Good. “His survival intuition is unbelievable. When controversy arrives, Ryan doesn’t play hero. He lets the executives deal with it and retains shifting.”
They continued, “Ryan protects Ryan. He doesn’t publicly problem the community, choose pointless fights or connect his model to a different individual’s disaster. If there’s bother, he creates distance — quick.”
The supply added that Seacrest plans to behave as if nothing occurred. “Ryan will stroll onto that set, smile for the cameras and work with whoever Sony places beside him,” they defined. “He understands the golden rule of tv: no one is larger than the present. Ryan doesn’t rescue individuals. Ryan survives.”
TMZ was the primary to report Thornton’s suspension on Tuesday, September 1, with producer Sony Footage Tv telling the outlet, “Now we have just lately been made conscious of allegations regarding Jim Thornton. He has been suspended from Wheel of Fortune and we’re recasting whereas we conduct an intensive investigation.”
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The studio didn’t specify why Thornton was suspended, however TMZ reported that the alleged incident came about on a business flight in Could 2026. A passenger reportedly complained about him to a flight attendant, and sources with direct information mentioned the pilot known as forward to have police meet Thornton after they arrived. Thornton was questioned and shortly launched.
American Airways instructed TMZ, “On Could 14, American Airways Flight 1276 was met by regulation enforcement upon arrival at Los Angeles Worldwide Airport following issues reported by a buyer onboard.”
On September 2, Thornton’s lawyer spoke with TMZ and denied any wrongdoing. He claimed the longtime TV announcer “didn’t have interaction in any unlawful conduct, was not arrested, and has not been charged with any crime.”
“When questioned concerning the criticism made by a fellow passenger on the flight, regulation enforcement spoke to him for 5 minutes or much less, instantly decided that no wrongdoing had occurred and instructed my shopper he was free to go,” his legal professional added.
On Thursday, September 3, TMZ revealed pictures allegedly displaying Thornton scrolling by way of a chatroom for pedophiles on his laptop computer throughout a flight.
In response to a passenger, she seen messages on Thornton’s display screen that learn “Couple of cute boys and a scorching little woman,” and “All-you-can-eat Boyfett,” the latter referencing a kind of restaurant to search out youngsters. The passenger mentioned she knowledgeable a flight attendant and shared the images with the crew.
Thornton’s legal professional instructed TMZ he had “turn out to be energetic in suicide-prevention advocacy since shedding an in depth member of the family to suicide two years in the past, and he has frolicked visiting chat rooms providing assist to people affected by suicidal ideation.”
The lawyer mentioned he steadily visited the suicide prevention web site 988lifeline.org and its chat discussion board, chat.988lifeline.org. Thornton claimed somebody from the assist group despatched him a hyperlink to lifeline.chat, a chatroom for individuals with pedophilic ideas, however he left instantly upon realizing the character of the discussion board. Nevertheless, timestamps reportedly present he stayed in there for almost an hour.
His lawyer emphasised that lifeline.chat is “not illegal, there isn’t any illegal baby pornography or different pedophilic content material, and my shopper by no means seen, downloaded or consumed any baby pornography whether or not on that business flight in Could or at some other time.”
