Sony Pictures Television has suspended Jim Thornton, the longtime announcer of “Wheel of Fortune,” and is recasting the role during an investigation into allegations connected to a May 14, 2026, American Airlines flight that was met by law enforcement at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Thornton, 61, has neither been arrested nor charged, and his attorney denies that he did anything wrong.
The studio’s September 1 statement did not detail what the allegations involve. “He has been suspended from Wheel of Fortune and we are recasting while we conduct a thorough investigation,” Sony said, adding that it had recently learned of allegations concerning the announcer. The studio has described the decision as a suspension and recast while the inquiry proceeds, rather than a dismissal.
American Airlines confirmed that officers met Flight 1276, traveling from Charlotte, N.C., to Los Angeles, when it arrived at LAX on May 14 after a customer on board raised concerns.
What a Passenger Reported Onboard
A woman on the flight said she saw Thornton’s laptop screen displaying messages and images from a chatroom she believed was used by pedophiles. She said one message referred to “CP,” which she understood as shorthand for illegal material involving children. Thornton was wearing a “Wheel of Fortune” jacket at the time.
She alerted a flight attendant and gave the crew photos of what she said she had witnessed. The captain notified authorities, and law enforcement officers were waiting when the plane reached the gate. They questioned Thornton after landing and released him. He was not taken into custody, and no criminal charges have been filed against him.
Attorney Denies Any Wrongdoing
Thornton’s attorney, Allison Hart, says her client broke no laws, was never arrested and faces no criminal charges. By her account, officers spoke with him for no more than five minutes after the plane landed, found no wrongdoing and told him he was free to go. “In short, my client did nothing wrong,” Hart told TMZ.
Hart also addressed why Thornton was in an online chatroom in the first place. She said he became an advocate for suicide prevention after a close family member died by suicide two years ago, and that he had been spending time in support forums for people struggling with suicidal thoughts, among them the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline website and its chat service.
According to Thornton, an acquaintance from that advocacy community sent him a link to a different chatroom — one intended for people with pedophilic thoughts and unconnected to the suicide hotline’s forum. He says he left as soon as he understood what it was, although timestamps on the material appeared to indicate he had been in the room for at least 57 minutes.
Hart further said the site itself is not unlawful, and that Thornton has never viewed, downloaded or consumed illegal material involving children — neither on the May flight nor at any other time.
Thornton’s Path to the Announcer Booth
Thornton, a West Virginia native, has worked as a radio and television announcer, voice actor and news anchor since the mid-1980s. He first appeared on “Wheel of Fortune” as a guest announcer in 2010 following the death of Charlie O’Donnell, the show’s longtime announcer, and took over the role permanently in 2011. He has also announced “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” since 2021 and earlier voiced episodes of the CBS mainstay “The Price Is Right.”
Outside the game show world, he has been a fixture at KNX news radio in Los Angeles since 1985. His work has earned him an Emmy and an Edward R. Murrow award.
His voice reaches millions of viewers each week, even though his face is far less recognizable than those of hosts Ryan Seacrest and Vanna White. Sony Pictures Television produces “Wheel of Fortune” along with “Jeopardy!,” the country’s two biggest syndicated game shows. In Nielsen’s early-August snapshot, “Wheel of Fortune” ranked No. 1 in syndication with more than eight million viewers.
The fallout is already reaching the screen. The first month of the new season had already been taped, and producers are re-editing those episodes with another announcer ahead of the September 14 premiere, an effort one source described to TMZ as a “major undertaking.” Thornton still turned up on a rerun that aired Tuesday, September 1, after the investigation began. As of September 4, Sony had not announced a conclusion, and it was unclear whether he would return to the show, which airs on local television stations and streams on Peacock and Hulu. For now, the allegations remain unproven, Thornton has not been charged, and his attorney maintains he broke no laws.