Jim Thornton's Facebook presence disappeared Friday evening, just hours after his termination from Wheel of Fortune became public. The former announcer's personal page, which had been accessible earlier in the day, was no longer viewable by the public as of Friday evening, according to TMZ.
The page had previously featured content from Thornton's tenure on the popular game show, including behind-the-scenes photographs and video footage from the set. Personal content showing his wife and son, as well as images from school appearances, had also been visible on the account before it went dark.
Sony Pictures Television Studios has simultaneously scrubbed Thornton's name and photographs from Wheel of Fortune's official social media channels following the decision to terminate his employment. The removal marks a complete digital erasure of the announcer from the show's online presence.
The dismissal follows an investigation launched by Sony after the company became aware of an incident that occurred during a May flight on American Airlines. A passenger seated in proximity to Thornton observed messages on his device that referenced "cute boys" and a "hot little girl," prompting the passenger to alert a flight attendant, TMZ reported.
Photographs obtained by TMZ show Thornton using the handle "NicholasB77" on a website. His attorney claimed he mistakenly accessed the site while attempting to visit 988lifeline.org, where he allegedly provided assistance to individuals in crisis.
The photographic evidence indicates Thornton remained in the chat for nearly one hour. During that time, he allegedly discussed concealing the website's name from passengers seated nearby and referenced another website, stating he planned to view its galleries, according to TMZ.
After a flight attendant allegedly compelled him to close his laptop, additional photographs show Thornton using his mobile phone to read what appeared to be results from a Google artificial intelligence search. The passenger who reported the incident told TMZ that Thornton displayed signs of nervousness following the confrontation with the flight attendant.
The flight attendant escalated the matter to the aircraft captain, who requested law enforcement meet Thornton upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport. Authorities questioned him at LAX, but he was neither arrested nor charged with any criminal offense.
Thornton's legal representative has maintained that his presence in the chat did not violate any laws and that no child pornography was exchanged during the incident.
The rapid disappearance of Thornton's social media presence underscores the swift action taken by both the announcer and the production company in the wake of his termination. The complete removal from official Wheel of Fortune channels represents a definitive break between the long-running game show and its former announcer.
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Ava Hart
Ava Hart is a pop culture junkie and loves to share what's happening in Hollywood and what trends are taking the world by storm.
