'Wheel of Fortune' Announcer Jim Thornton Speaks Out After Being Accused of Participating in Child Pornography Chat Room

Jim Thornton, the longtime announcer for Wheel of Fortune, was suspended from the show following reports that a fellow airline passenger photographed his laptop and alleged he was viewing a controversial chatroom on a May 14 flight.

Images published by TMZ show Thornton — wearing a Wheel of Fortune jacket — looking at a site called lifeline.chat. The photos capture highly explicit and disturbing messages referencing minors.

TMZ obtained photos allegedly showing Thornton's computer on his tray table with messages in a chat room discussing "a couple of cute boys and a hot little girl" as well as "CP," which the passenger took to mean “child pornography.”

Furthermore, timestamp data suggests Thornton remained on the page for approximately 57 minutes.

Thornton’s lawyer, Allison Hart, strongly denied the accusations.

Hart told TMZ the chat room is “not unlawful" and "there is no unlawful child pornography or other p--------- content."

"My client never viewed, downloaded, or consumed any child pornography whether on that commercial flight in May or at any other time,” she said.

She stated that Thornton accidentally opened a link sent by an acquaintance while using his device for suicide-prevention advocacy work.

"When my client understood what the website was about, he left the page and has not visited since," she stated.

American Airlines confirmed that authorities met Flight 1276 upon its arrival at Los Angeles International Airport after a passenger raised concerns.

However, Thornton's attorney noted that officers spoke with him for a few minutes and he was allowed to leave without being arrested or charged.

“When questioned about the complaint made by a fellow passenger on the flight,” the attorney said, “law enforcement spoke to him for five minutes or less, immediately determined that no wrongdoing had occurred and told my client he was free to go."

Sony Pictures Television officially suspended Thornton on September 1. A spokesperson stated they are recasting his role while conducting a thorough investigation.

Because the upcoming 44th season of Wheel of Fortune has already been taped, production is reportedly scrambling to edit Thornton out of the upcoming episode.

“We have recently been made aware of allegations concerning Jim Thornton,” a Sony spokesperson said in a statement to E! News. "He has been suspended from Wheel of Fortune, and we are recasting while we conduct a thorough investigation.”