Chat Room Tied to Jim Thornton Shutdown After Airplane Photo Scandal, Website Issues Statement

Former Wheel of Fortune star Jim Thornton’s scandal takes another turn as the website he was reportedly seen using issued a statement addressing the matter.

The incident occurred in May when a passenger observed the reality TV star using a chat room believed to be related to p—------ and alerted the flight crew.

She also took photos of Thornton going through the chat room on his laptop, which were released by TMZ.

Following the scandal, the website, 988lifeline.org, issued a statement defending its services.

Sony Pictures Television suspended Thornton after the allegations against him came to light.

Soon after, he was reportedly fired from the show after they conducted an internal investigation.

Although it was initially unclear why the former host was under investigation, the reason became clear after TMZ published photos of him on the website.

On September 8, the website released a statement, noting, “LifeLine is aware of mainstream media coverage following its alleged use by a TV celebrity on an airplane,” per TMZ.

“Since the news broke, we have been overwhelmed with visitors, both well-intentioned and otherwise. We make this statement to clarify our purpose and explain the need for such a service,” they added.

“LifeLine operates a support chat room for people attracted to children and adolescents. We have strict rules against any kind of illicit behavior, including the sharing of criminalized images,” the statement continued.

“Those who violate the rules are swiftly banned and their messages removed as soon as possible,” they stated.

“Many commentators ask why a place like LifeLine even exists. It exists because most people attracted to minors are fully capable of behaving responsibly, yet extremely distressed by the stigmatisation of their feelings,” they remarked.

The website also noted that their purpose is to make sure people like that have a safe place to discuss their feelings, which ensures “better mental health.”

They seem to believe that leads to “more positive outcomes for themselves and their local communities.”

The website doubled down on its stance, stating, “As a support service, we do not encourage users to feel shame over a sexual orientation that can never be changed.”

“We believe that affirming their feelings, while encouraging responsible and lawful behavior, is the best way forward. To this end, we allow messages that the public may consider ‘offensive’ so long as they do not cross legal boundaries or put anyone at risk of harm,” they continued.

“Via this methodology, we have successfully diverted users from making bad decisions that would have endangered themselves or others,” they stated.

“Unfortunately, there's no safe way for minor-attracted people to access professional support in the majority of cases. There is a severe risk of being reported to authorities simply for disclosing one's feelings,” the statement claimed.

They also argued that nobody would want to seek therapy under the real threat of “being outed and shunned as a p—-----.”

“The metaphorical lynching of the celebrity who allegedly visited our chat illustrates this clearly,” they commented.

“LifeLine exists precisely because the world is so incredibly hateful and punitive that minor-attracted people have no other means of support,” the statement noted, adding, “This desperately needs to change. Those who would argue otherwise do not have anyone's best interest in mind.”